#flashing green and purple and both colors at the same time

[chemicahs]

All colors are literally the same color how do yall not see this shit

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 184 }

that green gentleman (things have changed).

single.parent!sung jinwoo x fem!daycare worker reader

{ things have changed for me, and that's okay | i feel the same, i’m on my way, and i say | things have changed for me, and that's okay }

you had simply been tidying up the area, placing all of the toys back in its respective boxes as each child went home with their parent for the evening when you heard your coworkers groaning and talking amongst themselves.

"it appears the father of that child is asking us to keep an eye out for suho, since he's working overtime yet again at the station."

"goodness, i would stay back, but my husband's waiting for me."

"same here, i haven't even picked up my groceries for dinner yet!"

you look back to see the cute, 4 year old boy named sung suho remaining quiet, spending his free time drawing as he surrounded himself with a plethora of crayons. being familiar with suho and his father, sung jinwoo, you knew how difficult and challenging it was for a parent to raise their child on their own.

"sorry ladies, but i couldn't help but hear that sung jinwoo may be late in picking up suho?"

your coworkers heave out yet another sigh. "indeed; honestly, i wish i could stay back, but i've got my own errands to fulfill before i come home and prepare dinner."

"and my own husband is waiting for me as well..."

"if that's the case, why don't i stay here with suho and close up the daycare?"

your coworkers' eyes go wide, with them stating your name in an incredulous, but grateful manner. "you'd do that for us?"

"of course! you ladies go on and head home. i'll keep suho company and wait for his father to arrive later tonight."

after receiving their gratitude at least a hundred times, you watch as your coworkers pack up and leave the daycare, leaving you alone with the tiny boy.

smoothing your apron, you come closer toward suho, seeing a new stack of drawings settled next to him. no one else knew this, but you developed quite a fondness for suho, often admiring his imagination and how colorful his drawings were.

"hey there, suho. your papa says that he'll pick you up later, so since it's just me and you, you don't mind spending some time playing with me, do you?"

suho vehemently shakes his head while flashing you a wide smile that had a few gaps between his front teeth. "hello miss, and i don' mind playing with you til daddy gets here!"

you giggle along with him and press a finger against your lips, playfully telling suho to remain quiet (as if you were keeping a well kept secret), "since it's just us, how about i get you some snacks? would you like some pudding and strawberry milk?"

suho's eyes go wide as he presses both hands against his mouth, not saying a word as he gave you a series of nods.

"okay, i'll be right back with those snacks."

you bask in suho's sweet giggles, going into the fridge to grab a cup of pudding with a carton of strawberry milk. returning to suho, you help him open his pudding and milk while giving him a plastic spoon. as the toddler enjoys his snacks, you trailed your eyes over to the stack of drawings.

"mind if i look and admire your drawings, suho?"

suho simply gives you a nod with a spoon in his mouth. you thank him and pick up the stack of pictures, tracing over each crayon mark. there were lots of purple and black shadows that surrounded figures that appeared to be suho with his father. despite how malevolent the shadows seemed, the painted smiles on each of the shadows' faces dissipated any amount of concern you held. if these were suho's imaginary friends, then it was clear that they made him happy (with his favorite one being in the shape of a giant ant.)

as you turn the page, you saw a drawing that broke your heart. in it, suho and his father were settled on the couch while watching the television with a frown on their faces. on the screen was what appeared to be a blonde woman smiling with a microphone in hand as she waved at the cameras.

"that's mama." suho says with a bit of a sad tone. you nod and place the drawing of his mother back on the table for suho to see. he was frowning, pushing aside his empty cup of pudding while pointing a finger at her. "papa says she left when i was two... i don't remember her, but papa says she's happy in the t.v., singing and taking pictures."

"i see. your mom is very pretty?"

suho gives you yet another nod. "yeah, papa says she was so pretty that she left us."

suddenly, tears fill his grey eyes when he turns his gaze to you, filled with a desperation as he shakily asked, "did mama leave because i wasn't a good boy?"

"oh no, honey. no no no, this has nothing to do with you." you automatically bring suho into your embrace, gently caressing at his hair as he cried against your apron. "sometimes, adults have dreams they wish to achieve, too, and such dreams make them blinded. i'm sure your mama still loves and thinks about you, she just wishes to make her dreams come true first and foremost."

suho continues to cry while in your arms, yet still, you remain by his side, comforting him. you trace random shapes against his back while humming a lullaby. soon enough, the tears slowly begin to cease as you heard the soft sounds of his breathing.

with a fondness in your gaze, you turn suho around so that you were cradling him in your arms, rocking him back and forth while placing a gentle kiss against his forehead...

"suho." a deep yet breathless voice was heard calling out to the little boy, and as you trailed your eyes forward, you were met with what appeared to be a much older version of suho himself-

you were met with jinwoo, his father.

{ ... }

jinwoo was cursing all the way toward the daycare, berating himself for being so caught up in yet another cold case. the time was nearing 10 in the evening, which was past suho's bedtime as he rushed toward the daycare.

admittedly, ever since cha hae-in's departure (leading to their inevitable divorce), it was difficult for jinwoo to care for his son. of course, he had his loyal shadow soldiers that protected and kept watch over him-

but what suho needed was that soft, maternal touch he was certain his son had been deprived from when hae-in left and gave him complete custody. in her own way, jinwoo knew that hae-in loved her son-

yet the promise of being more than a simple housewife was a calling that such a gorgeous woman like his ex-wife could not ignore. she had big dreams when she was younger, but was unable to reach them until recently. their child was barely 2 years old when an agent caught sight of her and made her an offer she could not refuse.

jinwoo spent months arguing back and forth with his wife, wondering why their son wasn't enough (why he wasn't enough) to make her stay-

but in the end, he ultimately relented and let her go.

after all, he loved her enough to let her go and help her pursue her dreams-

even if it didn't involve either him or suho.

the memory of it all was enough to make jinwoo's heart twist, his hands clutching at the steering wheel when he arrives at the daycare, parking haphazardly before tossing the door open. he runs a hand across his unruly locks of hair, entering the building while calling out his son's name.

"suho-"

he trails his gaze forward, only to feel his throat closing up in response at the sight before him.

jinwoo sees suho in the embrace of a kind young woman. she meets his gaze while placing a finger up against her lips, humming a lullaby as suho remained asleep in her arms. his heart was racing, practically melting at the sight of her. when she finishes her lullaby, she beckons jinwoo closer, allowing him to take suho within his embrace.

he lets out soft coos of his son's name, feeling him stir the tiniest bit before settling within his arms. he looks back at the woman and thanks her, seeing her name tag while referring to her by her first name, "thank you, for caring for my son. and ah... i apologize for arriving so late."

she merely giggles, waving off his concern while taking off her apron, hanging it somewhere before grabbing her bag. "don't worry about it, mr. sung. it's tough working as an investigator. i don't mind spending a few extra hours keeping watch over suho until you pick him up."

jinwoo thanks the woman once more, this time with his eyebrows furrowed in response. "say, it's getting pretty late. is your boyfriend or partner picking you up?"

he hears a choked laugh coming from the woman. "ah, no mr. sung. i'm afraid i'm single and must take the train back to my place."

"the trains stop running by midnight, ma'am. you'll never make it." jinwoo tells her with a whisper of urgency. "i'm sorry, this is all my fault. let me give you a ride back."

before she could even protest, jinwoo's voice takes on a more authoritative tone. "trust me on this; it's late at night and you're a young woman. do you know how much the rates of assaults have increased this past year? there are millions of depraved men still out there."

his words end up striking a nerve within her, and he watches as she purses her lips before nodding, "well, okay mr. sung. if it isn't too much trouble-"

"don't worry, it's no trouble at all. after all, it's my fault that you had to be here so late. and please, call me jinwoo."

while keeping his sleeping son within his embrace, he watches the kind daycare lady shut off all the lights before locking up the daycare, following him to his car. as he opens up the backseat, he had a hard time getting a good grip on suho in order to transfer him to his carseat. it was during this moment that jinwoo witnessed her unconditional kindness once more.

like it was second nature to her, jinwoo watches as the woman gently ease suho away from his embrace, angling her body so that she had better access to the carseat. with gentle movements, she places suho in his carseat while buckling his seatbelt. "i'll remain in the backseat with this little guy. i can tell you my address as well."

taken aback by her easygoing nature and genuine kindness, jinwoo could only manage a nod in response, watching as she sits next to suho's carseat while he settles in the driver's seat in a bit of a haze. turning on his phone, he types in the woman's address and begins to back out of the parking lot.

with each stop light, jinwoo couldn't help but sneak glances at the kind woman, seeing the way she kept a protective arm around suho's carseat while looking out the window. seeing how soft and nurturing she was makes jinwoo smile, filling his heart with a warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time.

after what seemed like mere seconds, jinwoo arrives at her apartment complex. he was filled with a reluctance to see her go, especially when she gives suho a gentle kiss against his hair. "night little guy, i'll see you tomorrow."

giving jinwoo one last thank you, she exits the car and makes her way toward her apartment building, with jinwoo remaining parked in the front, not moving until she was completely inside of the building.

"papa..." jinwoo's ears perk when he hears suho calling out to him.

"yeah suho?"

jinwoo tilts his head back to get a good look at suho, seeing him yawn before telling him, "i really like her."

he hums in agreement, "well, you've got good tastes, suho. i really like her, too."

suho lets out another yawn before falling back asleep, making jinwoo smile as he started the car once more, thinking about how the next time he went to pick up suho that he'd need to place a soldier within her shadow...

{ ... }

you had fallen into a bit of a routine with jinwoo for the months that followed.

more often than not, jinwoo would end up working overtime at the station while you would always offer to keep watch over suho. and during those late nights when jinwoo picks suho up, he would always take you home.

but lately, it seemed as though you were steadily doing more... intimate activities.

for example, during the weekends where jinwoo was able to take some time off, he would pick you up after your shift at the daycare center and invite you out to dinner with him and suho. whether it be to a nice restaurant, or to a comforting, home cooked meal made by jinwoo himself-

it truly was nothing short of bliss to you.

and it was during moments like these that you found yourself falling utterly and irrevocably in love with the man named sung jinwoo. everything about him was just so perfect to you, and you found yourself thinking on how crazy his ex-wife was for leaving such a perfect family behind-

but you digress, since you were certain that it was simply the jealousy getting to you.

it was your day off, and you were simply doing mundane chores when you heard a knock at your door. drying your hands against a towel, you answer the door, only to feel your eyes go wide when jinwoo was found in front of your apartment. he was dressed comfortably in a black turtleneck sweater with matching jeans and a pair of converses, holding in his hand a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

"hey, do you mind spending the rest of your day with me?" he gives you a sheepish smile, placing the lovely bouquet within your hands. you felt flabbergasted, gaping a bit as you looked around for any signs of suho.

"suho's with my parents for the day, so it's just me and you." as if reading your mind, jinwoo reassures you, placing a hand within the pocket of his dark jeans.

"oh, well, yes! i don't mind spending my day off with you. hold on, i'll place these flowers within a vase, and i'll grab my bag, then we can go."

jinwoo chuckles while telling you to take your time, simply watching you while in your doorway as you fluttered around your living room. after filling a vase with some fresh water, you place the lovely bouquet inside and grab your purse from your room. you join jinwoo after locking your door, smiling up at him as he takes your hand in his.

feeling the heat against your cheeks, you remain silent, simply allowing jinwoo to interlock your fingertips together with his. "let's take a walk, there's something i'd like to talk to you about."

you nod, "okay, lead the way, jinwoo."

he tightens his hold on your hand, walking with you out of your apartment complex. remaining on the sidewalk, you walked for about 20 minutes before arriving at a nearby park. he keeps on walking deeper into the park, not stopping until arriving at a gorgeous garden filled with a rainbow color of blooms. spotting an empty bench in the midst of such a wonderful garden, jinwoo gestures at you to sit as he settles beside you.

you both remain quiet, simply admiring the scenery. you were in the midst of counting how many flowers there were in a single section when jinwoo calls out your name. you feel him taking a hold of your left hand and begin speaking.

"you have sparked a fire in me that i didn't think even existed anymore."

the way jinwoo's voice cracked made you look back at him, your eyes being filled with empathy. you felt him giving your hand a squeeze when he meets your gaze. "ever since my ex wife left me to pursue her dreams, i buried myself in my work to forget about the pain of her abandonment. i did my best to raise suho on my own because of how much i love him, but it hasn't been easy.

what suho needs is a nurturing touch of a mother. he needs a gentle and kind love, that unconditional type of love that his own biological mother was unable to give.

truly, i was at a loss; uncertain of what i could even do to help him fill that void. and when i felt as though i were close to giving up and losing it all, that's when you came into my life."

your breath hitches in response to his confession, feeling him reaching out to you with his free hand as he cupped at your face. "you were like the sole beacon of light my soul was searching for. when i saw you that night, cradling my son so gently within your embrace, i knew that my heart was yours."

jinwoo finally lets go of your hand, making you let out a gasp when you saw a beautiful diamond engagement ring settled against your left ring finger. "j-jinwoo-"

"i know, i know, you may find me to be a rash man, proposing to you so suddenly, but i obtained such a trait from my own father." jinwoo lets out a rich chuckle while pressing a kiss against your ring finger, "the sungs have always been men who knew what they wanted and would do anything to pursue it-

and the only thing i want is you..."

jinwoo's eyes begin to glow purple just then, and you felt him framing at your face as he presses kisses that were no heavier than dew against your parted lips, "so please, marry me. make me and suho the happiest boys in the world. suho needs you- i need you in order to feel whole again."

with tears streaming down your face, you lean forward to press your lips against jinwoo's in a searing kiss, knowing that you would simply be a fool to reject his proposal.

[ epilogue ]

suho was getting ready for his first day of school, face frowning into the mirror as he kept trying to adjust his bowtie-

yet still, it seemed like no matter what he did, it forever remained within its lopsided state. with a pout, he stomps his feet and marches his way over to you.

"mom! i can't get this!"

you giggle and put aside the book you were reading, resting a hand over your rounded belly as you beckoned your son closer to you, "come here, sweetheart, let mommy help."

suho hums, remaining still like a good boy as you fixed his bowtie, settling it perfectly in the middle of his shirt. he gives you a toothy grin and leans down to kiss your stomach. "mwah! is my baby sister ready to come out yet?"

"not quite yet, honey, but soon, just have patience, okay?"

suho gives you another pout, ready to say something else when jinwoo's whistle was heard echoing throughout the house, "come on, suho! it's time for school! give your mama and little sister one more kiss, and i'll take you!"

suho listens to jinwoo's words, giving your cheek and your rounded belly yet another kiss before skipping away from you and toward his father, "bye mama!"

jinwoo gazes down at his son with a fondness, catching your stare while giving you a wink before leaving the house. and as your husband and son departs, you were aware of the shadowy wisps that surround you, making you smile as you knew that you would forever be protected by the man who was the absolute love of your life.

a.n. - an early father's day gift for the daddiest of them all lmaooo i'm sorry i need to write something fluffy and sweet for my hubby due to the stress i'm feeling. currently unedited, but i'll make any changes once this is posted 😭

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[mygnolia]

TASTE OF LIFE. l. heeseung

THE TALE GOES...heeseung is invisible to everyone, robbed of recognition as people pass through and never acknowledge him. to live as a shadow who observes is hard—heeseung sinks into corners and simply wishes for a chance to be a part of something. but when you finally come to the biggest halloween party of the year and see him, he can’t help but be attached. 

pair -› lee heeseung x fem!reader | trope -› horror, literally no fluff | warn -› major character death, violence, stalking | REN SAYS.. first installment! also this is shit guys im so sorry I NEEDED TO GET THIS OUT ASAP ugh writing this much lowk killed me </3 | 3k words | library

---

Mediocre. Normal. Ordinary.

That’s exactly how you’d describe the house that stood before you, with your bags tightly held in both hands as you ascended the few stairs to the porch. It felt like any other house, and you’d even compare it to the old one you were in. 

The previous home was different in one major way—it added years of aging onto your parents somehow, as if something had sucked the life out of their minds. It drove them crazy to stay home, and you couldn’t help but be embarrassed every time they mumbled in public about going home. 

They looked crazy. You just had to droop your head and pretend you didn’t know them. 

Your parents’ eyes lit up when they entered through the door, with wood flooring and a color scheme that reflected on their preferences. It was almost identical to your other house, so why exactly did they choose to move to a home that was no different than the last? If anything, you were just glad they were starting to feel more comfortable within the new space. It felt breathable, and something about the old place you lived in felt dirty and plagued. 

It wasn’t much of a struggle as you began to unpack the bags of clothes and boxes of items you brought with you, considering how little you cared about accents and decorations. With furniture already there, your room felt akin to your other one, but something was off. You tried to move the desk over to the window to gauge the effectiveness of the natural lighting, and when your curtains gave way to slightly clouded rays of sunlight in your room, you hummed with some satisfaction. Good enough. 

As Halloween came around, you understood how much everyone in the local town loved to celebrate. Houses on your way to school were filled with webs, lights, and jack-o-lanterns, and it made you believe that the pumpkin farm on the outskirts of town had a smart business model. On top of having an abundance of fall flavored desserts, the Yang family held the biggest party of the year, seeing as their son went to the same high school of yours. 

You had only heard whispers of the annual Yang Halloween party, rumored to be the best party of all time, was something you were looking forward to every year, even anticipating the post-celebration news to hit you from the town over. 

The day neared, and you got more and more excited to finally get to know people ever since you arrived in town. People knew of you as the new girl, but no one reached out, all too consumed in their own cliques to introduce themselves to you. 

—

“Taste,” you told the man waiting outside. “The password is ‘taste.’ “

The windows were tinted in red as moonlight streamed through one side of the building. The rest of the house was dark, with only flashing orange, purple, and green lights strung carefully to add to the mysterious ambience. Music blasted from the speakers and shelves were lined with decorations, ones that you were careful to avoid knocking over as you slid your way between crowds. There seemed to be never ending snacks, as people with tattered black cloaks always managed to keep the drinks filled and the rows neat. 

It was obvious that the family knew what they were doing when it came to throwing parties—you hadn’t seen one person without a smile on their face. The festivities like horror rooms and games were all through-out the floor, and there was always something for everyone to do. 

You fell into conversation with a few people, cutting it short as you excused yourself to the restroom. Down the same hall was a door that was left ajar, and you went to shut it before returning to the boy who you just met. 

“Hi.” 

You jumped back, eyes darting around as you searched for someone to match the sudden voice, and you heard a small curse in the same direction. Your feet were frozen as you only looked around, your hand still on the knob of the empty restroom as you hoped someone would come to break you out of your stupor.

There was nothing, you promised yourself, and the door shut with a click. Still, your gut swirled with fear as you slowly turned, anxiously rubbing the goosebumps on your skin.

“You can hear me, huh?” 

You knew the sound was coming to your left, where the flashing lights were nowhere to be found. All you had was the phone you fished out of your back pocket before you saw a flash of something pale. You immediately turned, trying to find it once more. 

You could’ve sworn there was something. 

“Hello?” You probably looked insane to any bystander, calling out to the dark when you swore you saw something nearby. 

To both your surprise and horror, someone floats through the closet door, his limbs passing through as a grin makes his way onto his features. 

You’d think the ghost in front of you was attractive, if it wasn’t for the fact that you were experiencing something supernatural for the first time. 

Bile rose in your throat as you became disoriented looking at the figure. With a yelp that caught confused stares from only a few people nearby, you scurried out of the house, bumping into bodies as the door grew closer and closer. 

Like a bubble about to burst, the house feels stuffy and humid until you open the large doors, swallowing the cold air of the night like a lifeline. Your head spins with confusion, and you can’t seem to understand what you just saw until he seeps through the wall once more. 

“I’m sorry if I scared you.” You yelp at the sound of his voice, taking a few steps back as you look anywhere but his sullen face. 

The sound of your heart won triumph over anything else as you kept trying to make space between you and the creature in front of you. When he begins to glide closer, you take it as your sign to grab your small clutch and begin a brisk walk back home, no matter how dark.

“My name is Heeseung. No one’s ever seen me,” he explains, easily drifting behind you. 

“Get the fuck away from me, Heeseung.” Your voice sounded shaky as the wind rushes past your ears. You felt hopeless, unable to hear his footsteps or gauge where he could be. 

He’s right next to you, speaking directly to your profile all of a sudden. “Please, no one’s recognized me since I died. Please, you have to help me.”

The change in proximity has you jumping from being frightened, and you try to cover your ears to block out his voice. 

The worst part of it all was that Heeseung could touch you. You felt the cold of his fingertips without the pressure of his mortality in his fingertips. Effortlessly drifting next to you, he worked to pry your fingers from your ears as a plea for you to hear him out.

“I don’t care. Leave me alone.” You began speeding up, seeing your house in sight and the ghost beginning to fall back in his misery. You didn’t care about it, only wanting to go home and pretend everything was a bad dream. While the ghost wasn’t ugly by any means, the supernatural facet of his identity kept you up as you feared the creature outside your window at any moment. 

What you didn’t know was that your gut feeling was right–Heeseung wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted. 

—

You didn’t know what was louder–Heeseung’s voice in your ear, or the thudding of your heartbeat. 

Your scream echoed around the empty house when he appeared for the second time, your heart dropping as the lack of sleep you got from the night before made you even more on edge now. Everytime you looked down a corridor, shivers racked your body and you were unable to go anywhere without a flashlight. You swore you saw him in the corner of the room, and if not–something was horribly wrong with you. 

There he was again, staying by the edge. “Please, get away from me, I can’t give you what you want, Heeseung.” You tried to keep your voice as steady as possible, as if you weren’t shaking from fear that you’d be joined by an intruder everytime you turned the corner.

You couldn’t shower or change without wanting to tear your hair out, and there was no way to quell the anxiety after you saw him stick an arm through your home. 

There was nothing you could do. No one who you could go to about this. You were truly all alone. 

Class felt like a blur with an ache in your head and an emptiness in your stomach. It was exhausting for you to dart around the room, waiting for him to appear. 

He was waiting for something, you knew it. 

You felt on edge constantly, like you were going insane. Every small movement triggered some sort of reaction, so much so that your classmates began to notice and snicker. 

You felt like your parents–and you had no idea how to make it stop. 

—

It was the third day of your sleepless torment. Your parents often left you alone according to their new work schedules, and you were still stuck having to hide from the apparition until you left for school. He looked torn apart, too, but you couldn’t understand why he couldn’t give you space. It got so bad to the point where you heard whispers of him in every corridor. You couldn’t stand it anymore, and your bloodshot eyes and scratched arms were a sign that something had been wrong ever since Halloween. 

There was only one person you could tell about this, and you didn’t even notice how bad your fingers had been when you went to pick at the dry skin once more. 

“Jungwon,” you mumbled as you passed him. He turned around, immediately recognizing you as someone he didn’t know much about. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked, concern knitting his eyebrows as you asked for him to talk with you outside. 

Something was off that day. The clouds were gray, dipped with unease. The sky was bathed in dread, and Jungwon could tell something was wrong by the way you couldn’t find the sun no matter where you looked. 

“What’s wrong, ____? You’ve been looking horrible ever since Halloween.” You flinched at the word, eyes stinging with tears as you were pushed back into thinking about that night. You never should’ve worn your black dress or added some cute cat ears. You never should’ve left the house. 

“There’s something in your house, Jungwon,” you pleaded, your gaze frantically searching for any sign that Heeseung followed you. “It’s like a spirit, something happened and it won’t—“ your words came to an abrupt halt when you heard a chuckle from the boy in front of you. 

A laugh tore through as Jungwon crossed his arms and looked at you with a pitiful grin. “You’re funny. Good prank, though,” he smiles, about to turn. 

You had no idea what came over you when you went to grab his arm. Jungwon was practically a stranger to you, but one more sleepless night without a cure would’ve made you go insane if he kept following you. You needed to get rid of Heeseung. 

“No!” Your voice rang out louder than anticipated, and the sudden shout made you wince, still holding onto Jungwon’s arm. “You don’t get it, something’s following me around, he keeps talking to me and no one else can see him—“ 

The boy yanked himself out of your grip, suddenly frustrated, and you feared the worst; Yang Jungwon would tell the whole school that you were crazy. 

“Please, Jungwon—” you tried once more, “he’s real—he’s everywhere and I can’t get rid of him—it was because of your party,” at this point, your eyes were filled with tears as you begged your only hope from leaving. “You have to help me—“ 

“I don’t have to do anything for you, ____.” He sneered, growing impatient. “I don’t know who put you up to this whole prank, but you need to stay away from me.” He spun around, paying you no attention as you crumbled to a heap on the ground and sobbed hopelessly on the pavement. 

The sky was darker than ever, and it was still afternoon.

Even as you walked down the empty dirt roads to your house, you couldn’t help but hear Heeseung’s voice ring in your ears. As you started running to push the sound out and replace it with your heavy breathing, your eyes began to shut with exhaustion. Slowing to an eventual stop in front of your house, you heaved, gasping for air that felt like it was escaping your lungs any moment as you held into the porch railing

“You’re home. What took you so long?” 

Your vision was blurring slightly in the corners, and the corners of your eyes felt puffy. You were slipping out of consciousness, but you remembered that voice anywhere. “Get away from me, please.” 

Heeseung pursed his lips, feeling slightly bad for the state that you were in. “I told you, I can help you.”

When you saw his pale shoes in front of you, your body reacted instantly, scrambling back to create some distance. You hadn’t registered that a wooden splinter from the floor cut into your palm until Heeseung saw the blood seep into the planks underneath you. The porch made no sound under his quick footsteps, and it only instilled more frustration at his lack of perceptibility. His sudden approach left you frightened as you waved a hand in the air, unable to feel the wound from the state of your body. “Go away, Heeseung!” 

He frowned angrily. “Let me help.” He kneeled next to you and reached out for your wound before you yanked your hand back, stumbling as you got back up and tried to make your way to the entrance.

“Please, stop,” you cried, taking two steps towards the railing before your legs gave out. Heeseung tried to reach out for you again. But you pushed away his hand, the slap of the force making no sound. It was almost humorous how much your torture was one sided, but you had no more energy left to defend yourself.

Heeseung went to grab your wrist, worry etched in his features as your state deteriorated in front of him. You kicked his leg, hot tears staging your cheeks as you sobbed for him to leave you alone, but the more carelessly you moved, the more the large splinter dug into your hand. He begged for you to stop–to let him help you before anything bad happened, but you couldn’t understand through the sound of your own hysterics. 

A mix of going days without sleeping, paired with your lack of appetite and delirium left you defenseless no matter how much you tried. You struggled against the ghost of Heeseung’s grip as he tried to stop you from hurting yourself even further. You felt bile in your throat when he was close, and you found the opportunity to yank your arm out of his grip. You underestimated the force, however, and your hand hit the wood behind you. Momentarily distracted, you focused on the blooming pain of the impact and the slowly trailing blood. It was out of body how you couldn’t process the sensation of your fingers tracing the messy wound, and you became a slave to your exhaustion as the boy came back.

You fought against him weakly, the blood from your wound becoming a larger problem the more you used your hands to do anything. 

“You don’t get it!” He yelled, tears of his own forming from the anger of having to go against you. 

Why couldn’t you just stop? Why did you keep pushing him away? You were selfish, trying to ignore him as if you didn’t understand his predicament. You were the only one who could’ve seen him, and he was the only one who saw you in return. “Even Jungwon doesn’t believe you,” he mumbled bitterly, seeing you slowly slip in and out. “You wouldn’t even help me, ____. It’s all your fault.” He talked as if you could hear him, the life in your eyes gone by the time he wiped his tears and finally looked at you, with your wrist going limp in his hold. 

“I don’t get it.” He wept angrily, before getting up and leaving you there on the porch steps in a heap. 

Heeseung turned to glance at you again, his semblance of a heart in pain from how things had to end up. “You seemed so nice–so promising. Jungwon swore we could've been friends.”

–

You didn’t know if it was possible to kill a ghost twice. After all, your death turned you into a floating apparition of yourself, as you watched your parents mourn their attempts to shield you from their own fate. Being a ghost wasn’t so horrible, but Heeseung was right; it was lonely. 

When a voice calls your name apologetically from where you sit on your rooftop, your gaze settles on him with fury, and the moment you rush over to him and your fingers close around his wrist, you knew that you wouldn’t stop until you properly got rid of Lee Heeseung.

No matter how long it took.

--

i swear the rest of them will be better. and shorter.

zyvlxqht firstclassjaylee @riribelle @jaylajakey @minfolio @strxwbloody @r1kification @strayy-kidz @mimismenu @jwonistic @haechsworld @machambrx @ririsreverie @hollxe1 @wonnina @heeseungismymanz @cyjhhyj @eunimaybe

[espionn]

NightWing tribe sheet!

hey guys, sorry this one took a little bit. nightwings have a lot going on. also, i talked about both the old night kingdom and the volcanic island, but i didn't really mention their new rainforest setup, bc i didn't want this to be *too* long. so sorry that there isnt anything regarding that lol

Physical Appearance + Traits

-NightWings are the only fully nocturnal tribe, going to sleep a bit after dawn and rising at sunset. Their colors are dark, not only making them invisible in the shadows but also letting them fly at night without standing out. The undersides of their wings are scattered with starlike scales and rich coloration that perfectly resembles a night sky. Their night vision is almost perfect, and their eyes flash in direct light not unlike nocturnal mammals like cats. 

-NightWing colors are usually mixed with green, blue, purple, or some combination of these. Some are nearly pitch black, and others are more gray. Their beaklike snout, horns, and spines are usually the same light silver as their scales, but sometimes these can be black too.

-Healthy NightWings are often somewhat large and even bulky, with thick tails and strong legs. After their retreat to the volcano, they were thought for some time to be scrawny and have a permanent dull roughness to their scales, but after a few generations in the rainforest they began to again be sleek and strong.

-The three moons are not only extremely important to NightWing culture and imagery, but also have a physical effect on them. Named Oracle, Perception, and Imperial, each full moon can grant a different ability. A NightWing hatched under a full Oracle will have limited prophecy abilities, and Perception will grant mind reading. Imperial added to either of these will make them stronger. The only thing that is still uncertain is whether Imperial alone has any effect. Some dragons insist it grants natural leadership abilities, but the only consistent observable effect it seems to have is a deep-rooted infatuation with the moons throughout the dragon’s life.

-Perception - mind reading - will also leave a silver teardrop-shaped scale in the corner of the dragon’s eyes. It will be reinforced with a silver circle beneath it if Imperial’s strength is applied. Oracle’s mark is more subtle, but seers’ eyes themselves will often be strikingly silver, and some have noted more clear constellations present in their wings.

-The strength of the power can often depend on how directly the dragonet was exposed to the light.

-The pattern of stars in the wings of NightWings are as unique as a human’s fingerprint. Sometimes, though, they resemble real constellations, and even when they don’t, there are seers who claim to be able to read a dragon’s fortune in their wings, similar to palm readers or even Zodiac theorists. Superstitious parents may have the wings of their dragonets analyzed by these seers. It’s very rare, but on occasion a dragon may be hatched with large, bright patches of clustered star scales, and these dragons are not only considered extremely attractive and desirable, but also may be said to be blessed by the stars themselves. 

-Albino NightWings are extremely rare, but they are practically worshipped. One factor in the bad blood between NightWings and IceWings was the feeling from NightWings that IceWings’ pale coloration was a crude mimicry of the moons, and therefore impure and insulting.

Life Cycle:

-NightWing eggs are laid in small clutches, usually between two and four. They incubate on secure clifftops, carefully watched by parents, for 3-4 months, and hatch quite physically defenseless. They take longer to learn to walk and fly than any other tribe (with the exception of SeaWings, of course). NightWings believe this is a sign of superior intelligence, as their development goes to their minds first and their bodies second; it is, in fact, true that NightWings learn to speak and even read quite early compared to other tribes.

-NightWings live with their parents and siblings in family units. It isn’t uncommon for homes to be multi-generational, with grandparents or even great-grandparents to live in the same place as their descendents, as some dragons simply never choose to leave their unit. They also sometimes live with friends and other relatives. Some also choose to live alone.

-Despite how many NightWings sometimes choose to live together, they are actually not very socially dependent dragons. Some are more social than others, but much of their lives and work will be spent on their own, even though they live and sleep with other dragons. They are self-motivated and many are quiet and disinterested in conversation. They also tend to lean toward making friends outside their families rather than having the same parent and sibling bonds that some other tribes have. 

-Dragonets spend much of their time, for several years, in school. NightWing schooling is very organized and thorough, and every dragonet is expected to attend. The vast majority of their socialization while they’re young is done in school.

Society + Culture:

-Even more so than SeaWings, NightWings have thousands of years of literature that they take enormous pride in; the main reason for their education system at all is their need to teach about their history and writings. Poetry and orchestral music are inventions of the Night kingdom, and they are beloved within the tribe. Their technology is on par with SkyWings, but instead of weaponry and armor, their focuses are on instruments, glasswork and even some scientific tools. 

-Their society doesn’t rely much on rank and structure; some dragons may have higher status, usually based on wealth, but NightWings don’t have distinct ‘high-status’ and ‘low-status’ groups like other tribes might. They are valued based on ability and intelligence, and not so much by birthright. Mindreaders and seers are usually well-known and well-respected, though there is a subtle jealousy pointed toward them throughout their lives as a result. 

-There was a time when NightWings would intentionally try to lay eggs that would hatch on full moons, especially double moons, hoping to have powerful offspring. However, many myths state that these dragonets would be cursed, and their gifts would somehow backfire; in these stories they often died, young and tragically. This practice was later discouraged and even considered taboo. 

-This hasn’t stopped some morally ambiguous experiments from being carried out. Eggs about to hatch have been intentionally exposed to meteor showers, eclipses, blue moons, harvest moons, northern lights, and a number of other phenomena with the hopes of finding some new and mysterious powers. The records of the results have been lost to time.

-Architecture is another particular piece of pride for NightWings, and while the Night Kingdom still stood, it was a marvel to any dragons who visited. Their structures - schools, homes, even the kingdom - were carved directly out of the cliffs of their jagged land, and then carefully and lovingly sculpted over time; pillars and statues and high-vaulted ceilings with intricate detailing are almost reminiscent of ancient Rome. 

-Even before their retreat to the volcanic island, NightWings were not very involved in the conflicts between other tribes. They were perfectly content in their region, and tended to think other tribes didn’t have much worth seeing anyway. Because they don’t usually bother themselves with fights like this, when they aren’t hunting, they tend to spend their time on things like art, writing, astronomy, and music, as these are highly valued in their society. Those who weren’t interested in these areas could also do limited military work, construction work, or work in service of their royalty as guards, hunters or servants.

-Once they lived on the island, though, survival trumped anything else. Food was scarce to non-existent, they lost the majority of their craft and literature, and some died outright from smoke inhalation toward the beginning. They carved rough tunnels into the cliffs with their own claws. They became hardier, but much less advanced. They also lost all knowledge regarding the stars and moons, including that of their own powers.

Diet: 

Old Kingdom: Omnivorous. NightWings could make a wide variety of food and drinks, usually eating small animals, fruits and vegetables that they could grow or trade, and even some mushrooms. They had no qualms about eating them raw without preparation, if they just needed a quick meal, but they could mix and cook food to make a variety of meals.

Island: Carnivorous. They eat anything they can find, and rarely bother to do anything beyond cooking it, if even that. Very few plants grow on the volcano, and only the most desperately hungry dragons will eat it. 

[rainbowolfe]

Discrepancies II

Following up on this post.

Okay, first things first. Goat was foreshadowed early on.

Maybe they weren't "Goat" at the time, but they were the entity filling that role.

In comparison to the Cult AMV, I would consider them different colors, even if they're both ultimately shades of pink. But they're close enough in shade that I didn't have to correct very much. YMMV.

Next thing. The color of Shamura's and Kallamar's Crowns don't match their title colors. And this is important because, for the most part, the different colors correlate to specific things. This universe is pretty well color-coordinated.

They've actually gone out of their way to modify the images they're using for the thumbnail to better match the title text. (instead of the other way around) The bottom screenshot is also from the Launch trailer, and they did more than brighten the image. They would've had to change the hue to match. Unchanged, they match the Crown colors shown in the video.

As you can see with where I marked on the color wheel, the color of Shamura's Crown is purple and the color of their Title is magenta. The color of their Crown in the thumbnail is closer to magenta than it is purple, even if it's not an exact match.

Same goes for Kallamar's Crown. His is blue while the Title is cyan. The margin's a bit tighter, but the color of his Crown in the thumbnail is closer to cyan than it is blue.

Comparing these colors to Unholy Alliance. The alliance is between Conquest (whoever that is) and either Death or Goat. And I say "or" because the color is perfectly in the middle of red and pink. I think it's a shade of pink, but I'm hearing feedback saying they think it counts a shade of red.

I also noticed that the green used in the UA poster is damn near the exact same hue as Leshy's Crown, it's just a brighter shade.

But wait, there's more! Going back to Shamura and Kallamar....

As we see most notably in the UA poster, curse color can vary from Crown color. But based on Death's Sweep and Death's Kiss (not pictured), the aura surrounding the summoned weapon is what points to the user.

So in this case, Death's Attendant was Kallamar. Black is a color prominent in all the curses, and I suspect that's the influence of the Crowns. The curse being purple and cyan would suggest the power is coming from Shamura and Pestilence. ((Or it's one step removed, and it's coming from the sources: The Night and Ithaqua))

Cyan also appears prominently in Divine Blizzard, Divine Guardian, and on the Eye of the Icegore. It's the color of one of the flash frames in "Hook, Lamb, and Sinker". The other flash frame shares the colors of Touch of the Revenant.

Okay, one more slide. One very important color is actually missing from the roster of Crowns we have. Really, there are two, but I'll just focus on turquoise for now.

The color of TOWWs chains.

That's all I've really got for that one. Just. Who's color is that?

[ammonitetheartist]

Welcome to paradise

(Also yeh I used the Eldritch Uzi design by @electrozeistyking bc. cool 👉👈)

EhehrheEHEHEHHEHEHE-

Judging by when I ended up finishing this, ig here’s your (early/on time/late depending on your timezone) Christmas gift (or general gift if you don’t celebrate it) from me: PAIN

I’ve recently been noodling with the idea of Cyn’s original consciousness being in a little mindspace of some kind, and then I started noodling with the concept I saw brought up by this comic: of the Solver taking Uzi as a host like her, aaand this was born!

Also I was originally gonna draw the panels individually, but since tumblr doesn’t have a way to exceed 10 images on mobile (as far as I know), I had to get creative

Edit: ghgghhhhGHHG WHY IS TUMBLR NOT LETTING ME LINK THE COMIC HHHHGGGGGRRGG- it’s the “She’s Gone” comic by the person I tagged near the top; you can find it in their top posts

Putting the image ID under the cut bc holy fricj-

[Image ID: A comic featuring catified designs of Uzi and Cyn from Murder Drones. The first drawing shows the first four panels; a front view of Uzi in her Solver mode over a snowy night sky, wings outstretched and a yellow X over her visor, then the same drawing with a perspective blur, then a black background with a yellow flash, like a TV turning off, and finally a completely black background.

The fifth panel shows a blurry drawing of Cyn looking down to the viewer, a black blur effect around the edges. The third drawing shows the sixth and seventh panels, starting with Cyn standing over Uzi, who is lying down, followed by Uzi jerking back in surprise upon noticing Cyn.

Panels 5-14 feature a dark, mottled yellow-green background with faint, pale yellow polygons of varying sizes to signify the mindspace. In addition, both Cyn and Uzi’s designs in this mindspace become solid color, with colored lineart. Cyn’s text is yellow and Uzi’s is purple.

The 8th panel shows Uzi on the right side of the drawing with a confused expression, uttering ‘Wh-‘. The 9th panel shows her head whip around in surprise. The 10th panel shows the background giving way to a drawing of Solver Uzi in the center, with her usual colors (very darkened), a glitch effect, and a yellow AbsoluteSolver symbol over her visor.

The 11th panel shows mindspace Uzi with a shocked, lost expression as she mutters ‘Wha…’ in a small voice. In the 12th panel, she turns to the left side of the screen, adding ‘Wh- where…’

The 13th panel shows Cyn sitting on the left side of the screen, a blank expression on her face. In the 14th and final panel, she wears an empty smile, and a dark tear slips from under her visor as she simply says, ‘Welcome to paradise.’ End ID]

[tmntxthings]

∑一The Tactical Bandwagon *･。

author’s notes: it couldn’t be helped, I’ve seen @donathan ‘s lovely art and many tactical!donnie fics, i ‘twas inspired <33333

warnings: none rlly, tension, cursing, tactical!donnie x target!reader, unedited

—————————————————————————

Donatello wasn’t used to this kind of setting. He was a hired hand. A sharp shooter. A fucking sniper. All of those implied long distance, breathing room, space between the hunter and the hunted. Yet, this particular job required him to be far closer than he liked. He was amongst the throngs of a crowd, all dressed to the nines and entering an elaborate ballroom for those only of elite standing. So of course, he was dressed to impress rather than in his usual mercenary gear. No longer in a vest colored with the darkest of purple. But in a suit that was crisp and black, his preferred color was shown through the accents of his tie. Though he was not unarmed, that remained the same. Tucked in at his hip, hidden behind the fancy lapels of his tux. No one was the wiser to the threat that walked among them. And it would stay that way if he did his job correctly. His mission? Locate the target, bring them to a secluded area (using any means necessary) and finish the job. The last bit always ended with a fatal shot. Though it wouldn’t ring out tonight. It would be silent, since his handgun was stocked with a suppressor for good measure.

Once inside the grand building, Donatello took to the first wall. He knew the layout well enough but he wanted to gain his bearings. Now on the outskirts of the crowd, he was an outsider looking in. Searching for his target. He walked the perimeter of the room, hands tucked behind his hidden shell, only moving when offered a glass flute filled with bubbly alcohol. He wouldn’t drink, he was on a job after all, but holding such a prop made him fit in. He had almost made an entire lap when his eyes snagged onto features that he had instilled in his brain.

He didn’t know what you had done to become a target. Though the sum he would be paid was telling enough. Someone wanted you dead, someone with money to spare, perhaps someone in this room. He may have had second thoughts as he watched you glide across the dance floor. Graceful and sweet with a smile that lured all those around. You were beautiful. In a gown that clung to you as if it was your second skin. Green, emerald green silk, the color was flattering.. Donatello saw the opportunity for what it was, you out on the dance floor, sweeping into a different person’s hold with each passing song. It was his in. It was your doom. Against his better judgment he took a swig before placing the drink on one of the many tables that were placed enclosing the dance floor. He joined the crowd once more. Weaving in and out, eyes tracking your form, losing you a couple of times as more bodies seemed to pile together. He had tried to time it just right, as the previous song ended and a new one began. His efforts were in vain as someone beat him to you, offering up a hand which you took. Donatello almost left to sidle up against the perimeter once more when he felt a tap on his arm. Turning, he found that he too had a dance partner. Which he thought may be for the best, as he took the lead to where you swayed. He didn’t even have to try, he too could dance just as gracefully as you. It or rather he caught your eye and for the first time tonight you noticed him.

The song ended and as the next started it was as if both of you planned it, passing off your previous partners in favor of one another. Now with you in his arms, all he had to do was seclude you. Ideas flashed before him as the two of you danced, which with both of your combined prowess made for quite a spectacle. His scheming halted as you suddenly spoke, “I don’t believe I’ve ever crossed paths with you before,” it was said with contemplation as you twirled away from him, making a grand gesture before being pulled back. He wondered if he had pulled you too forcefully as you collided into his plastron with a soft thump. Your smell flooded his senses, as sweet as your smile. “Your assumption is correct, this is the first we have met.” The small pause, your hands still planted on his chest, looking up into his eyes with mild curiosity. “And it is your first time attending such an event as well,” your eyes glinted with a flash of concealed knowledge before putting some modest distance between the two of you. Donatello was immediately on guard. He thought you had meant in general.. he hadn’t realized you were so attuned to the usual guests of such parties. “Caught, red-handed” Donnie put on an air of playfulness. Not wanting to steer into the implications of seriousness. “Crashing a high-end party was on my bucket list,” a lame excuse but the best he could come up with. “And how would you rate your experience so far?”

Donatello had to train his features to maintain the illusion of ease, of calm. He couldn’t falter with the teasing, playful manner just yet. It was part of his plan to eventually drag you off into a more secluded area. But your words struck him. They hit him so hard, with familiarity. His paranoia told him that you must know. Who he was, what he did, and the way he spoke for that matter! But a more rational thought whispered that maybe it was a common enough phrase..? Highly unlikely. But he wouldn’t fold first, so he entertained your question. “I’d give it a solid eight, mostly because I’ve found such a competent partner.”

To prove his point he upped the antics, spinning you around with such speed that stamped his inhuman abilities. You kept up though. In fact, you flashed him a smile once the move was over, not even a hint of dizziness to your steps. “May I inquire the name of my proficient dance partner?” It was as if the two of you weren’t just dancing with bodies, but with words as well. “You may,” he smirked, knowing you had already asked but wanted to see if you would do so again. Instead he found you had quite the temper as you stomped squarely on his left shoe. The glare you gave him only widened his smirk. “Othello, Othello Von Ryan,” he spoke into your ear as he dipped you. “Wasn’t so hard, now was it?” You teased, as he brought you back up. “My foot says otherwise.” He bantered back. And the song ended all too soon. You took a step back. Neither of you were out of breath despite the intensity that both of you had danced with.

It became apparent to Donatello that sharks were surrounding him, or you. All seeking for a chance to spin you around the floor as he had done. He found he didn’t want to let go of you so soon. He was delighted to find that you were still staring up at him, waiting for something, so he offered his hand, “May I have this dance?”

“You may..” you slipped your hand into his once more. Stepping forward, into his space. The sharks dispersed and from then on the two of you danced and danced and danced. He may have gotten enthralled in the way you were able to snag the lead out from under him. It was like a parry of back and forth. It was fun. He was having fun. Which inevitably brought him back down when he felt your hips at his, his attention immediately shifting to the handgun that dug into his waist. You didn’t notice though, breathing a bit heavier as the songs flew by, you smile bright as ever. It was time to end this.

So when the song ended this time around, Donatello’s arm secured itself around your middle as he drew you close, whispering in your ear for you to follow. You obliged him. It seemed his plan to woo had succeeded. He noticed eyes following after you, glares thrown his way. He almost wished someone would follow, to make this a little harder. To prolong the inevitable. Up a marble staircase and down a hallway, you allowed him to pull you outside on a balcony. You sighed out in a long exhale, the chill of the air was a welcome feeling to the heat you had gathered whilst inside.

Donatello watched as you left his side, leaning out and over the railing, New York’s ever-present lights giving you a dazzling view. Now that he was outside, he felt his mission was coming to a close. He didn’t want to waste any more time than he already had. So he reached for his weapon, fixing his features into a cold stone stare. Your back still turned to him, you spoke out towards the city, “You never did ask for my name,”

“I know who you are.” Donatello stated squarely as he lifted his arm, gun ready and aimed. When you turned to finally face him, you didn’t seem surprised. His earlier paranoia rang true, so you had known who he was. You had danced with a killer. Your killer. He wondered briefly if you just liked to flirt with death or if you were just accepting your fate. He fired. Then he fired again. Two resounding clicks could be heard against the background of flowing traffic. He shot a third time and watched as you smiled a slow triumphant grin. “Surprised?” You questioned as you held up his magazine that held his ammo. The bullets. Lifting your dress, you revealed a black strap circling your upper thigh. Pulling up a strikingly similar gun to his own, you loaded his bullets into the chamber with practiced perfection. He huffed, more of a laugh. He had a million thoughts going through his head, but the one on his forefront was this: he had been set up.

He lunged forward, a suppressed shot sounded as he dodged and you shot again, amusement dancing in your eyes as he pranced before you. “I don’t think you know me, though I know you, Donatello~” you all but purred as he rushed forward, pushing the gun up as you fired for a third time. “So either I was played or someone wants us both dead.” Donnie clutched your wrist tightly. You raised your other hand in surrender, “my thoughts exactly.. the latter for your information.” He let his hand squeeze your wrist with warning before letting his hand trail down your arm. “I propose a plan, work with me Othello, two is better than one.” You winked flirtatiously. Donatello chuckled, licking his lips in contemplation at the idea of working with you. “Only since you won’t slow me down,” he said offhandedly.

[fryktheciller]

with you, though

anderperry + charlie being a slut

summary: neil freaking out at the flower shop

Wind through the hair, sunlight on the face, and sunglasses sitting proudly on the nose—that’s definitely not Neil, at least not now. That's, most definitely, Charlie Dalton, driving a car that wasn't his, without a license, and with Knox's clothes. He's so cunty one might actually think he owns both the car and the clothes and has the right to drive. 

Neil’s poor soul is tortured and has been for quite a while. He had asked Todd out, and the interaction went a little like this:

–Todd, listen… would you like...i mean, if you want to of course, to hang out- I mean, go out? Next...next week, perhaps? After the latin test?

The blonde blushed at the request and the eloquence it was made with. He replies in one breath and with anxiety:

–Yes, I mean... It would be great. Saturday's good. Sure

Neil noticed, other than the embarrassment the roommate replied with, a glint in his eyes, bright and sparkling, perhaps even more than the light that was kissing his face and brown locks. That light—that's what tortures him ever so sweetly; it has bewitched him completely. 

With Charlie, he had to get flowers—not really because he wanted to, but rather because of Charlie himself, who claims to know everything about dating. They get out of the car (alive and well, against every expectation) and get into the tiny little flower shop, filled with bright and intense-smelling blooms.

 –Whatcha getting him?

–Have no clue, honestly.

–Now that's the spirit!– and Dalton smiles, patting Neil on the shoulder. –I'll be over there with the short brunette; call me if you need anything. 

Perry nods, without even listening, and watches him leave. He had thought about everything but the flowers and blames himself for that, partially because he doesn't have a clue about what flowers Todd likes and because he doesn't really know if he wants flowers in the first place.

He starts wandering slowly between the big, black buckets filled with seasonal blossoms. Pretty much everything blooms in that period; if there were fewer flowers, it could have been easier, Neil swore. 

Asking Charlie isn't an option. "He'll make me get some roses and end it there. I adore Charlie, but for pity's sake.” He thinks, reading the Latin names written on some wooden signs inside the buckets. 

“Which nouns were irregular? Uuh… mater, matris; pater patris, and then what? The flowers, god."

Some wild roses had something mischievous in the way they stood proud, with open petals and straight stems. “It's a Goethe reference, you silly!” they looked like they were saying.

Neil falls for that a little and bends down to look at them better: florid yet so young, sweet and wild, and a rosy color that was so elegant and bright at the same time. 

“Like when he comes out of the shower and into the room, all flushed with wet hair,” and blames himself for thinking such things in a public place.

He gets up and walks away, over to a table filled with green and smaller buckets. There were tulips, standing like they were about to wither, even though sunlight was over them entirely. 

“Tulipa sylvestris… Tulipa is from the first declination; Sylvestris is from... Sylvester, perhaps?

Did he write something about them? Did I read something? 

No, no, no, he said his mother loved them.” 

And he moves on, walking over to the hyacinths, the purple ones. They stood proud, almost stern, in the shadow. 

“They mean joy... or I’m proud of you? Don't remember.It would be cute, though; I give him the flowers and go, “I got these for you because I'm proud of you,”” and he smiles stupidly, like only a fool who’s in love does.

He sees clearly now. Looks over at Charlie, who turns around and flashes one of his iconic grins. “I love Charlie; like, look at him” and smiles again.

He moves on, now with an actual idea in mind. 

“Philadelphus coronarius, both from the second declination. Oh, so pretty,” and smiles once again. “They look like orange blooms. That’s what that poem was about; where did he even see these?” and he looks at them, white and canid. Petals so thin they were almost transparent; the faintly colored pistil; the thin stems, somehow so resistant to hold 8 to even 12 buds of flowers; and then the leaves, so dark and intense, almost to compensate for the purity and innocence the petals transmitted. He moves his attention to Charlie’s coarse and vibrant laughter and the girl’s sweeter one. “He's taking her to bed tonight.”.

There was a tiny ant breaking the flower’s fairness, walking expertly between petals and blooms.

“He wanted to spend a summer in Greece or Italy; that’s what he told me. They have such a faint, bitter scent, too.” and he bent down, his gaze still following the ant. 

“The light in his eyes when he told me that...” and he smiled foolishly. 

A second later, he’s looking at a blondie, wrapping up a sprig of mock oranges and a couple of wild roses that begged him so much to choose them in a light brown paper. “How did Calvino’s story go? Je voyage en amour? Perhaps.” That’s not really his case: traveling for love, but he felt the same way. The blondie’s delicate hands were now tying a fine white lace around the small bouquet. 

Charlie reaches him, holding the flowers as Neil paid for them. Once done, he turns around and smiles faintly, to which Charlie replies with a much sweeter grin than usual. "Homosexuals,” he thought, with irony and fondness, as if he weren't bisexual himself. 

–Think he’ll like them?

–Of course, trust me. 

Neil smiles at him, a weird feeling in his stomach and dizziness seizing him again. He got in the car, followed by Charlie.

–The short brunette wanted to get to know you, told her you were taken.

Charlie blurts out with a chuckle; the other laughs heartily and smiles sarcastically, turning at him.

–Yes, Charlie. Thank you.

***

With a heavy breath and the hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, Todd wakes up abruptly and sits up on the bed. The room's dark, the air stale and hot. He takes off the light wool blanket from his knees and gets up, opening the tiny window and moving a thin curtain. April’s moonlight enters shyly into the room, lighting a messy bed with undone sheets and a perfect one: sheets tight and covers straight. 

“It was a dream; I was dreaming,” the blonde whispers to himself, in front of the window, all cold from the night's humidity. The knot in his throat tightens, his limbs are numb, and something like butterflies starts to move in his stomach. His eyes burn with tears that start to fall, hot and slowly, one by one, wetting the pajama shirt or making a slight plop on the wooden floor. 

–I did want to go to Italy or Greece. With you, though. 

The blonde goes back to bed, body heavy and mind numb. The thought of the next day’s classes makes it hard to breathe. His head hurts,his lips contort downwards, eyebrows furrowed and it hurts to keep that expression on; there’s nothing he can do anyway, tears steaming uglily and wetting the messy flannel sheets, his arms wrapped around his stomach, in a fetal position under the blanket, freezing and sweating at the same time, as the cool wind moved slightly the curtain. 

One second later, he’s awoken by the loud halls and the sun lighting up the room. His face is still sticky from the tears; a sense of tiredness in every inch of his body only made him want to cry more, but he’s just too tired of the swamp of pain he’s been in for almost 6 months. Images of spring are still running through his mind, as if nothing happened: long afternoons spent studying in the sunlight and coming back into the dorm rooms when the sun starts peaking.

Spring is when everything is reborn—everything, but Todd.

notes: hi!! i want to start by apologizing, i have no right to write such outrageous things; with that being said, this has been sitting in a corner of my google docs page for like months, and after editing for weeks it still feels really off but i cant tell if its just me or the whole idea is completely mad ok

[im-657-mv]

your fantasy

yandere faerie lee taeyong

word count: 2129

Was this a dream? Your hazy mind had no clue. You were standing in the middle of the forest full of shades of the deepest of greens as the moon lit the area around you. It was so overwhelming the beauty of it all. It seemed so ethereal almost fake the way the branches swayed and the overall calmness it evoked from within.

Blue flowers were scattered around where you stood delicate and beautiful under the night sky. You bent down to get a closer look kneeling down to come face-to-face with the abnormal orchid. Never have you seen a flower of such color, the usual being a yellow or pink shade, but this was different. It was unusual in a pleasant intriguing way. In a way where all questions poking your mind vanquished within the gaze of the enchanting flower.

You didn't know where you were or even if you were on the same planet, yet you weren't afraid not the slightest. Maybe this was a dream of sorts one of mystery and temptation.

Standing up you looked around noticing a path. Those flowers again but this time they seemed to lead somewhere distant and far away. One by one they appeared further than your eye could see.

"Weird," You whispered deciding to absently follow their careful guidance. It didn't seem to matter where they were leading you all you wanted to do was to follow them.

Step by step you continued as they lead you away oblivious to the dense fog that arose from the ground encapturing your physique and hiding you from the rest of the world.

"Pretty flowers," You bent down and plucked one from the grass giving it a delicious sniff. Immediately a warm smile graced your face as your eyes closed shut. You really liked this dream…

Giggling you started to prance around chasing the flowers to their seemingly endless point. The wind breathed and laughed with you as the trees swayed and danced in your presence. Little lights of colors flew up beckoning you to follow them their with their auras breathing in union with your own.

Reds, pinks, greens, and purples all swarmed around you making your head spin and your feet dance thoughtlessly around as you chased them.

"Come…" They knowingly whispered making you giggle out loud in a state of oblivious bliss. Dancing around you bent up and down picking up more and more of the sensuous flowers that gathered up in your warm hands not forgetting to smell them and bask in the exhilaration.

But all of a sudden the flowers stopped in their tracks causing you to falter and trip over presumably nothing. With worried eyes, you tightly clutched your bouquet scared to even let a few of them go.

"Aren't the flowers so pretty?" A voice of velvet rang out in a purr. Your smile resumed on your face as you sat up inhaling the beautiful scent again delighted in the returning warm feeling gathering in your insides.

"Yes," You murmured too preoccupied with your task at hand. The stranger kneeled down in front of you admiring your smile and unknowing innocence.

"You know I've never met a human before." He whispered lightly leaning in closer to you. Looking up confused at his absurd statement you finally noticed the great big blue wings that shimmered against the moonlight.

"You're a-"

"A faerie." A knowing smile sneaked its way on his lips and deep down in the back of your mind, behind the fog, you knew this was dangerous. You had to-

"Why don't you smell some more flowers," He spoke out quickly plucking one from beside you, " the blue ones are my favorite." His eyes met yours as he shoved the flower against your face demanding you smell it. His eyes lit up flashing a shade of blue as you breathed in the flower and once again the fog took its place inside your mind ceasing all of your worries.

"Dance with me." You took his hand, his soft delicate cold hand that pulled you up with ease as he dragged you along willing to dance among the flowers and trees. A smile appeared on your face as you both moved back and forth not minding the silence nor the increasing presence of others arriving.

You couldn't take your eyes off of him. You didn't want to but something was telling you to run away, but why? You giggled at the thought and continued in your magical waltz with the faerie as he twirled you around and round. Not once did his hands leave your body either taking seize of your hand or laying hold on your waist, but you didn't mind.

"Stay with me…" He whispered as he slowed the dancing to a halt while keeping you facing toward him. The faerie's wings fluttered in anticipation at your answer hoping it'll be the right one but you couldn't. Everything was a muddled mess the flowers, the forest, the faerie looming over you awaiting an answer.

But there it was again, that voice that whispered a warning. This time you would listen.

"I don't even know your name." The words tumbled out of your mouth while your face frowned into anxiety.

"Taeyong. My name is Taeyong." You looked up tracing his details with your eyes. He is so beautiful.

"My name is-,"

"Y/N." He whispered as his admiration grew alongside his expression. "I know," Taeyong smirked as the flash of blue moved across his eyes again.

"I think I should go home now, Taeyong." His wings jittered aggressively at your comment while his eyebrows furrowed together. Was it anger, confusion, or annoyance? Part of you wanted to know but the other half advised against it. The faerie may be enchanting but something was off about him. He wasn't like the faeries you read in story books.

A hand touched your face and you were reminded of your situation. Taeyong asked again for you to stay with him this time with a little more force to his words as his hand hooked onto your neck.

"I really think I should go home now…" Nervously you watched as he smiled wider than before.

"You are in my forest." He spoke louder as his other hand joined your neck. "You smelled my flowers. I know you'll like it here. So why don't you just say yes?" With a tilt of his head, he continued reminding you that you were most definitely in his land in his territory.

"We could live happily together. Dancing, talking… being in love. All of this until the end of time." A gut-wrenching wave of realization hit you as Taeyong spoke of his future intentions with you. You tried to move back but he just moved with you following your timid steps.

"I know what you want. I know your deepest desires, Y/N." He whispered moving his hands down along your arms down to your hands gripping them tightly as he intertwined them within his own.

"Don't you want to live in pure bliss forever? Don't you want to know what it's like to have everything you've ever wanted?"

"I want to go home Taeyong! I have a family and a life that doesn't include whatever crazy delusion this is!" Exasperated you breathed in calming yourself first, "Wake up, Y/N. Wake. Up." You closed your eyes tightly trying to wake up from whatever dream this was. It was fun at first but now it was getting frightening.

Taeyong's once calm demeanor suddenly flipped as he sneered at your comment. "You won't be able to escape me that easily," Emiting a low growl he quickly moved your hands closer to him as you struggled against him.

"Hear my words!" The sudden shout frightened you as you looked up finally noticing the others who have gathered around as they encircled you and Taeyong together. "I chose Y/N L/N as my mate, my only soulmate." The words shocked you as your efforts slowed in disbelief. You tried to grab his attention begging him with pleas of no's but he paid no mind to your pathetic cries.

"I promise to love, to hold, and to cherish my only chosen," With angry eyes, he moved your left hand to his chest as he pressed his own to yours. "May death fear our carnation. May time fear our uniting." With a slight jolt of energy, his hand began to emit a blinding light against your cheast that pricked your entire body. You tried to pull away fearfully but hissed in pain at the sad attempt. "Even the gods of the land will hear of our procreation and rejoice in absolution." A stinging pain filled your bones as your own hand started to light up too.

"You are going to stay with me, forever." Taeyong lowered his gaze to your own as you cried at the pain. The prickling sensation seemed to increase by the second as the light grew brighter and brighter.

"I told you," He heaved as his eyes became glossy, " you won't escape me that easily." Simaltaniusoly you both fell at the increase in pain that seemed to even affect Taeyong this time. Groans filled the forest as you writhed against Taeyong unable to move away from him. He too seemed to twist in agony too making him pull you closer flush against his chest and hand still pressed onto you.

Little by little you could hear the sounds of chanting growing louder as the force of nature swayed in symphony, in ultimate divine aggreance. You tried to make out the words using what little consciousness you had but failed leaving only a guttural of annoyance. Taeyong only seemed to grow more and more unsteady as his hand tangled itself in your hair letting out an erotic moan that sparked something inside you.

"No, no no no-" You mumbled as you grew hot at the feeling of his silken lips against your burning neck.

"I need you," He groaned as he lavished your neck causing you to moan the same erotic sound he made not too long ago. Taeyong continued to leach off your neck nipping, licking, and sucking every inch of it. Unwilling you fell into the trap of arousal influenced by his damned stimulation. Both of you were twitching in invigoration excited by the lust that filled the air all around.

Taeyong erratically moved to the side of your neck making sure to kiss it all around. "I'll love you forever," A deep inhale between the two of you arose as he devoured your aroma. A broken moan left your lips as he grazed his lips delicately this time, "Taeyong-", within an instant, his delicate touch was erased. A scream of pain erupted as you felt his teeth sink in harder as he clamped down on your neck not letting go. Tears fled your eyes faster before as blood trickled down your neck and around his fevered mouth.

You tried to push him off but he wouldn't budge. After a few seconds, he released you as you both came down from the high fervor, panting and completely out of breath. The chanting stopped and the force of nature calmed down together with you, it had to be over. Please be over.

"I'll find you Y/N." The faerie panted looking psychotic as blood dripped from his lips onto his neck and chest. "You'll always be mine." He whispered as he petted your head calming your frizzy hair and pulling you closer to his body.

Your eyesight began to blur as you started to drift off into sleep, "I'll love you Y/N," Taeyong whispered as he laid your head onto his shoulder hugging you tightly before everything faded to an empty abyss. "Until the end of time…"

-

You gasped and jerked awake feeling dizzy and sweaty as your mind started to wake back up. What kind of dream was that? Groaning you grasped your head feeling the worst headache coming on but as you did so you felt a sting all along the side of your neck. You stopped what you were doing immediately and slowed your breathing.

"No, no no…" You held your breath as you brought your hand slowly to your neck scared of what you might find. You touched it and almost let out a sob at the feeling. Dried blood with an open wound the size of a bite mark.

Looking around terrified at finding the faerie in the room your eyes caught sight of something else… a bouquet of blue flowers that were placed gently on your window seal.

A dreaded cry sounded as your hand flew to your mouth. It was real…

"It wasn't a dream…"

[vodika-vibes]

Hi! May I request an androgynous-presenting m!reader x Tech where he meets the reader at a club where they work as a dancer to get intel for a job and some… steamy stuff transpires? Perhaps with the reader and Tech being on kinda equal grounds flirtation-wise, as I always find overly blushy readers or Batch members a bit awkward.

Love your fics! Cheers!

The Dancer

Summary: You’ve been undercover as a dancer at the most well known night club on Coruscant for months now, and you’ve come to enjoy it. In part for the attention, in part for the extra money, and in part for him, Tech.

Pairing: TBB Tech x M!Reader

Word Count: 1756

Warnings: Smutty/Spicy/Steamy

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I don't use any pronouns for the reader in this fic at all, though if I had I would have used they/them pronouns. But the reader does have male sex organs. I hope this is close to what you wanted. You said steamy, rather than full on smut so I stopped before anything more happened. Please let me know if this isn't what you wanted, and I'll try again.

“Another theme night?” You ask, shivering as the cold paint is applied to your spine, “Kriff! That’s freezing!”

“Deal with it.” Ali, your friend and fellow dancer, says as he carefully paints another scale on your spine. 

“I have to wonder about the political correctness of this theme,” You continue, more to yourself than to your friend, “I mean, in a galaxy where Nautolans and Mon Cala exist, is a mermaid/merman theme really the way to go?”

“Turn around,” Ali says, as he sits back, “I need to paint scales on your neck and down your sides.”

You sigh, “I feel like a canvas.”

“That’s what we all are. Little more than canvases for the boss’s artistic vision.” Ali rolls his eyes, “He got new rings for all of us. With ‘beads that match his vision’.”

“Which means green or blue, right?”

Ali snorts, “They’re teal.”

You roll your eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“Also, he has color spray for your hair.” He tosses a spray bottle into your hands, “Get styling.”

“This job kind of sucks sometimes.”

“Be grateful he’s going with a water theme and not the winged theme that he was originally planning.”

“Don’t remind me.” You carefully work the color through your hair as Ali paints your skin, and you’re thrilled when you both finish at the same time. 

“Don’t forget the earrings.” Ali says as he presses a new set of earrings into your hands.

“These are so tacky.” You bitch, even as you remove your simple silver studs and replace them then the teal teardrop shaped bead that hangs from a chain.

“And yet, we’re going to make bank.” Ali says, “Come on. It’s almost time to begin.” He flashes a sly smirk, “Maybe you’ll see that cute clone that’s been coming to watch you.”

“They’re all cute,” You reply with a lazy wave of your hand.

“The one with glasses.”

“What’s wrong, babe? Jealous?”

“Of you? Please. We both know I’m the pretty one.” Ali winks at you and then leads the way out of the room with you hot on his heels.

“Pretty? I think you mispronounced petty, Al.”

“I can be both.” He says with a laugh as he joins the sea of green and blue clad women and men.

You allow yourself to be swept with the throng of people, and a small smile crosses your face when you step into the club proper. As ever, it’s been totally transformed. The normal rich reds and golds, replaced with blues, greens, purples, and silvers. 

“Alright, alright.” The owner of the club climbs up onto a platform, his eyes alight with glee, “You all look amazing! You look exactly like I envisioned~” He claps his hands together, “Alright. The dancers tonight are anyone who has gold on their outfit.”

You look down at the panels of cloth hanging from your waist…blues, greens, and silvers. No gold. Guess you’re not on dancing detail tonight.

“If you have silver on you, you’re going to be wandering the floor.” The owner continues, “And anyone with bronze is a bartender or wait staff. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Ali raises a hand, he’s wearing an identical outfit to you, only with gold rather than silver, “Any special events tonight?”

“None that were cleared with me.” The owner replies, “Alright everyone, places! We open in 30!”

The crowd disperses into three distinct sections, and you head towards the door, joking lightly with some of your coworkers. You never get much intel on Theme Nights, but honestly, you’re not that bothered.

They’re fun.

Several hours later, you’re done with the night. 

Theme nights are fun, but they’re exhausting. All you want is to take a break.

Your eyes flicker across the club one more time, and then you see the one person you were hoping to see.

Tech is tucked in a booth in the back of the club, he looks kind of uncomfortable, but he also looks very curious about the employees.

Well, what kind of employee would you be if you let him remain curious. A sharp grin crosses your face, as you abruptly turn and weave through the crowd of people.

“Well now, color me surprised.” You joke as you lean your hip against the silver rimmed table. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Tonight of all nights.” 

Tech’s head snaps up, and he blinks at you, startled. 

His gaze flickers across the paint decorating your arms, sides, and chest, and then drops to the gauzy, floaty material hanging from your waist, and then his gaze snaps back to your face.

“You invited me.” Tech says, matter of factly, his gaze dropping back to the paint low on  your hips, “It would have been rude of me to not come.”

“Sure, sure.” You grin at him, your eyes sparkling, “Like the paint?”

“Yes.” Tech replies honestly, “It is very attractive.”

You laugh, “Have I ever mentioned how much I love your honesty?”

Tech’s lips twitch into a smile, “Not recently.”

“Shame. You should visit more often so I can heap praise on you.”

“I am afraid that you will make my ego swell.” Tech says as he takes a sip of his drink.

“Just your ego? Pity.” You say, once he’s taken a sip.

Tech chokes on his drink, “You,” He coughs, “You did that on purpose.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Of course not.” The sarcasm just drips from his voice, and you grin at him, “You know,” Tech notes after a moment, “My brothers say that you are a bad influence.”

“I don’t really care about what your brothers think.” You counter with a shrug, “I care about what you think. So, Tech, do you think I’m a bad influence?”

Tech gaze drops to your lips, to your chest, to your hips, “The worst.”

You grin at him, “You know there are private rooms available, right?”

“Is that an invitation?”

“You know that it is.”

Tech glances away from you for a moment, “I…probably should not.”

“Why?”

“My brothers will not approve of any of this.”

You lean over the table, and hook your finger around the collar of his shirt, “I told you,” You say with a sharp smile, “I don’t care what your brothers think.”

Tech obviously wars with his indecision, and you decide to give him one more push, “If you’re really not willing, Tech, I won’t make you. But you know that anyone here can buy my time, right?”

Tech frowns, “Yes. I know.” He glances at his datapad for a moment, seeming to read a message on the screen, and then he stands. “I think I would like a private room.”

“A fine choice, sir.” You reply gleefully, “This way.” You lead him through the crowd of people, until you reach the quieter part of the club, where the private rooms are located.

Three of them are being used, but the one on the end isn’t, and that’s where you lead him. You open the door, and adjust the time so that the charges will be applied to you, rather than him, and then you move to the side to let him in the room.

You’re careful to lock the door, and then, promptly, drop onto one of the plush chairs with a groan. “That’s much better.” You say as you rip the ridiculous looking sandals that you were forced into off your feet and toss them to the side.

Tech settles next to you, and for one, he’s not even glancing at his datapad, instead his gaze is locked on you. 

“See something you like?”

“May I touch you?”

You arch a brow, “If you like.”

His rough, calloused hand lands on your chest, and lightly tracing the painted scales, he looks surprised. They’re not coming off.

“I have to use special soap to wash the paint off.” You explain as you allow him to push you to your back on the couch. “It’s about as much of a pain as you expect.”

Tech’s hands trace down your torso, lightly tracing the paint as it makes its way down your body. “How far down does the paint go?”

You arch a single brow, “Why don’t you look and see?”

Tech’s hands hesitate low on your stomach, and then, with surprising swiftness, he unfastens the belt holding the panels of cloth on, and he carefully sets it to the side.

The trunks that you’re wearing are low cut, intentionally so to allow for as much skin to be painted as possible, and you settle back on the couch as Tech’s hands drift lower and lower. 

He swallows, hard, “Does the paint go under-”

Truthfully, yes. Ali’s something of a perfectionist, so you are actually completely covered in paint, but rather than telling him that, you just smirk, “I’m not telling. If you wanna know, you have to see for yourself.”

Tech’s gaze locks with yours, “You do not think I’ll do it.” He accuses as he rubs small circles against your skin with his thumbs.

Honestly, his touch is starting to make it hard to think, and you can feel yourself hardening. Of course, you have no shame, and if Tech’s noticed he hasn’t said anything about it. 

“You think so?”

Tech keeps his gaze locked on yours as he hooks his fingers under the waist of the shorts, and he tugs them down sharply. His gaze drops from your face, and trails down to your now achingly hard cock.

It, like every other part of you, has been carefully painted. And Tech’s face twitches. 

He trails a light finger across the paint decorating your cock, and you twitch, a low hiss falling from your lips, “You let someone paint you.” He sounds jealous and you laugh.

“Jealous, Tech?”

“Annoyingly, yes.”

You smirk at him, smugly. 

“You are incredibly annoying.” Tech announces as he wraps his hand around the base of your cock and gives you a firm stroke, pulling a curse from your lips and causing your hips to twitch.

“I’m not the one teasing.” You reply. “I’m also not the one still fully dressed.”

Tech pauses, midstroke, and then he leans down and crashes his lips against yours. What starts out as a heated kiss, becomes softer and more needy the longer it goes on, and you reach around him to tangle your fingers in his hair at the base of his skull.

“I…” Tech breathes against your lips, “I want you. Need you.”

And you laugh, “You have me, Tech.”

[hirokidan]

A (shaky) Mikoto Double Color Analysis

Tl;dr 4koto

Throughout Double there are 5 prominently shown colors, not just red and blue (John and Mikoto) despite the mv being primarily John's POV and him only being aware of Mikoto's existence, he was literally just born I don't think we can expect him to know how systems work or that Mikoto isn't the only other alter.

The main 5 colors I noticed were red and blue of course, but also green, pink, orange. I counted orange as its own alter originally, but then realized orange is also often used to represent red/John. I can only make sense of this assuming different variations of the same color (for example, different shades of pink) represent the same alter. There's a few blues that appear, a few pinks, and a few greens, and a mix of orangey-reds.

Some of these are from inverts, of colors turning into pink or green, but some are very much so standalone the color appearing.

Green and red background with blue and pink and (cut off) red text. So these are blue, pink and red's thoughts? With the background shifting from green to red, to indicate John fronting.

Red, green

Pink, red, green

I can't even screenshot it because I keep missing the frames but in this scene it also shows green silhouette which then inverts to a static overlay of a pink color, which then happens again at the door.

Finally caught the pink on the running scene.

The running scene is the most interesting to me as it shows the most.

In order, it's green flashes, then pink, then black with a blurry more monotone background, then quickly white with an orange background. Then it is blue and orange, monotone again, green and pink, orange and blue, THEN specifically orange, pink, green AND blue when it shows the silhouette of three of him running. It shows 4 Mikoto's running and shows 4 different colors.

It does of course flash between other combinations of these colors but like, come on. Showing 4 Mikoto's running away on screen and showing 4 colors... At times the red and the orange look similarly, but this one is most definitely an orange. Especially since the frame after is blue and red, orange in the corner, and then no color Mikoto as the actual? I saw people take this scene as trikoto, but there are 4 Mikoto's shown, as well as a mix of 4 different colors.

I really find it hard to believe they'd write a system character who became a system as an adult, when the writer has a psychology degree and it's very common knowledge DID stems from childhood.

Blacks and white's also often appear, but generally before drastic color changes. So would black and white indicate a 'switch'?

This scene then has blue, orange, pink, green, and a much lighter orange. Are both oranges representing the same alter? Idk lol, it looks more yellowy this time.

I wonder if whether a color is on Mikoto or in the background represents something?

This scene shows the three other alters, pink, blue, and green, but then a ring around them of orange, showing John is controlling the body ultimately at this point maybe?

Red tint fading in and out during a murder

Pink tint panning up which leads into....

Straight up pink background! With a bit of purple? So purple grouped with pink, similarly to how red had been grouped with orange and the two shades of blue are probably supposed to indicate the same alter? I have no idea, it has been 12 hours since this thing even released. What gets me mostly is the blatantly pink backgrounds as well as the pink text, that are very clearly in contrast to the red backgrounds and text.

I keep editing this and adding more on lol, but my general view of this is that Mikoto lived covertly as a system throughout his life, but then when Orekoto/John was formed, it as a lot more overt and different from the previously existing alters who, though incredibly stressed out, were managing to live in 'peace', or at least together enough to hide/not realize that they had DID. It's possible Mikoto is the only alter who was not aware of the DID, as Orekoto is clearly directing comments at someone in their body who is AWARE of what he has done, and terrified of it. Yet Mikoto himself insists he has no idea, and is truly genuinely confused.

[dynamic-k]

hi i unfortunately lost my question list in all the tissue and random paper from doodling in online lessons-

NOOOOOO

devastated rn

wait i didnt know tumblr dark mode existed

wot it took moving an entire country away for dis??? /j /silly /not-srs

Okayyyyyyyyy... This is for Super Sticks by the way!

Would Purple be able to fly from tech or powers? If tech, would it be from King or RGBY?

but also i thought all of RGBY were going to be able to fly????

Would RGBY have similar fighting styles like in AVM?

Like- would Green use the fishing rod and tend to move around in battle a lot? Would Red use his animals?? WAIT THE BEE CREEPER- ...seconds eel???? sorry im still holding onto that idea i will sell my soul for it- Would Blue continue chugging drugs? ...does Yellow get a staff?

Hold up does King even make his staff?

I'm going to say that's enough questions for today :D

Forgot to mention, I'm back i guess. So uh- Hello! havent been here for a while ;-;

Have a great week in case I dont ask another question in that time!

-R

NOOOO THE LOST NOTESSS :O U n U I despise it so much when that happens siergwgjwjeoqele

..EHEHEHHEHEHHHEHEHEH "Dark" mode-

-

You have an incredible tendency to ask just the right questions at the right time, right at the moment I happen to be thinking and brainrotting about it- XD

Alright- So-

Since I did kinda already share --in that other post-- a light basis of what the CG in Super Sticks would be able to do, you know... I might as well elaborate a bit, yeah? XD

Top secret paper, there you go, have fun reading through the blur.

okay okay

I'm not thaaatt mean- XD

I know what is written there and I'm still having difficulty- XD

[I can catch "All have wings", and everyone's names..]

Anyway- Uhmmm

Blue gets illusionary tech [hologram projection stuff, teehee] and leaping armor to jump significantly higher and farther than normal. [+wings]

Red gets flash teleporting; armor that temporarily can alter his very code to move it short distances away, and multiple burst teleports can be done in short succession of each other. Plus extra strength in the form of power punching armor-ey gloves. [+wings] (He does get ahold of dizzy suppressants later to aid with the occasional nausea side effects).

Yellow gets hard light properties: Can create hover platforms, a sword, shielding, and hard light ammo that he can fling fast and far distances. It requires a very powerful source of energy to function, which ends up being a gem in a garage sale that will be found and utilized at one point in the near future. It looked like a lamp decoration jewel and was sold cheaply. Yellow also gets cool googles with many different functions. [+wings]

Green gets durable, very long, coils of string stored in dual arm guns. There are capped sticky ends so when he shoots the string out, the rounded end will catch ahold of a surface and like a grappling hook he can climb and latch onto things. He also gets coded blades on the same arm guns. He cannot use the shooting string and the blade at the same time, they are only interchangeable since both are stored and swappable in the same gun. He may use one gun for shooting string and the other to hold a blade, however. [+wings]

The entire point was to give each quadruplet a main weapon, obviously a set of wings, and then a backup mode of transportation as a fail-safe in case there is wing malfunctions or failures.

These powers may be altered slightly as I get closer to the point of the plot where it is officially stated and explained..? Perhaps? But this is what I have come up with for now. :D

I also want to play on the Team Effort part of the Color Gang's journey in putting together their upgrade costumes.

Blue in his mini-bedroom laboratory, crafting dizzy suppressants for Red. Someone besides Yellow locating that garage sale gem that powers the hard light tech.

Everyone gets a major opportunity to assist in the full-scale construction of their hero-ing equipment.

It's not all just "Yellow builds everything and his siblings kinda assist him", no. They really work together to bring Second's birthday gift to its completion.

I can't share everything that happens, but this is where you can expect the story to go. :D

Now Purple-y Wurple-y over here, is gonna be a surprise. >:3

You needa wait and see until I get there in the plotline, before you know all of what he can do. U v U

I will say that it is King's tech, though. :D [Purple, much like the CG, does not retain any legit genetic superpowers and instead has upgrades to rely on]

Honestly, it is really funny you mentioned Green and his fishing rod when I have string shooters for his upgrades- XD

Red would NOT use his multitudes of cute, little, fragile animals, for fear of them getting hurt- :O

No Beeper. [The collective fandom name for Bee-Creeper]

There is no eel YET, but there may be, I have not decided.

XD With how excited and attached you are to the eel, I just might I just might- Honestly it'd be so cute for Second to end up with an eel pet~

Blue will indeed enjoy his bitter fungus several times over in the future, if naught but for the comedics~ It's not drug-like or alcoholic in my AU, though. Just tastes bad to most sticks.

There will be no staffs. Not for Yellow, nor for King.

:D You also have a great day!

You've already made mine epic with your ask! :3

[s-creations]

Legacy (Yellow, Purple, Red, Green Story)

Peach was told 'A princess will know' when she was younger.

The problem was, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to know.

Fandom: Super Mario & Related Fandoms Rating: General Audience Audiences Warnings/Additional Tags: Original Characters Named, World Building, AU World Building, Minor Death Characters

It was an absolute mess outside. The wind and rain rattled the small structures that made up the large town. Between the late night and heavy rainfall, it was impossible to see outside. Even with how hard the storm raged, the citizens inside paid it no mind. 

They had all sheltered down the moment the winds began to pick up. Warm meals shared while the fire coming from the family room crackled softly. Same room where the members would retreat to once the food had been consumed. Either to play a game or read a book, passing the time until it was time to turn in for the evening. 

Those in the castle were no exceptions. 

While all should be asleep, the young princess, eight-years old, of said kingdom was wide away. Even with how late it was and how tired she felt, she just couldn’t fall asleep. The heavy pink duvet hooded over her head. Wide eyes filled with fear were stuck watching the rain pelt against her window. Flinching when lightning flashed in the sky. Letting out a small whimper at the rolling thunder that followed. 

Deciding she couldn’t take it anymore, Peach slid out from her bed. Making sure to grab her blue star plushie before going to the door.

The creaking sound of said door opening drew the attention of two passing guards. 

“Princess Peach?” The blue-capped Toad walked closer. Barely able to see the vivid blue eye peeking out from the crack. “You should be asleep.”

“Um…” Peach shifted weakly before lifting her plushie up, “Lulu couldn’t sleep… Can you take us to mom and dad’s room?”

“Of course, princess. We’ll take you there right away.”

Plushie clutched in one arm with the other clinging to a Toad, Peach attempted to look brave as they traveled the darkened hallway. But couldn’t help the look of relief upon seeing her parent’s door. 

The guard who was not being desperately clung to walked forward to knock on said door. There were a few moments of silence before it was opened. A large Toad casually peered out. Structure more similar to that of a human than a Toad. However, facial features were clearly that of the locals. Large, multi-colors spotted cap adorned his head. Small black eyes, barely open, peered around the hallway until they found the new arrivals. A black beard twitching as a small smile appeared on his face. 

“What seems to be the issue?” The King asked, voice naturally deep with an added layer of heavy sleep. 

“We’re sorry to disturbed you, King Matsutake. But it appears Lulu can’t sleep because of the storm and Princess Peach is worried.”

“Oh?” The smile grew as he turned towards his daughter, “Would Lulu feel better if you two stayed with us for the night?”

Peach silently nodded.

“Come here. Thank you two for bringing Peach here.”

Both guards gave a salute before going back to their rounds. 

Peach was easily lifted into her father’s arms and carried into the room. A small light had been created by the bedside light. The other occupant in the four post bed was sitting up, rubbing sleep from their eyes. 

“Mat, what’s wrong?”

“It appears Lulu can’t sleep.” The King replied softly. 

Peach reached out for her mother as they neared the bed. The female human let out a small laugh as she collected her daughter. Pale blue eyes filled with exhaustion still crinkled at the corners with her wide smile. Tucking brilliant blonde hair past her shoulder so Peach could rest comfortably against her mother. 

“Oh, my sweet little Peach,” Dahlia whispered as her husband climbed back into bed, “You’re such a wonderful person, worrying about others.”

The princess didn’t reply. Instead hid away when another roll of thunder sounded. 

“Would Lulu feel better if I told a story?”

Peach nodded.

“Very well…what story would they like to hear?”

Vivid blue eyes peeked out from the queen’s shoulder. A clear internal discussion happened, Peach eventually whispering, “The one when you and daddy met.”

Dahlia let out a gentle laugh, “You’ve already heard that one before.”

“But Lulu hasn’t.”

“Alright then, how could I argue against that?” Shifting so all could sit up properly, Dahlia collected her thoughts before starting.

“Well, let’s start with where I come from.”

“The Kingdom of Earth!” Peach eagerly whispered, “It’s why your ears are round.”

The queen laughed. “Hey now, this is my story. Also, it’s just Earth my sweetie, but you are correct. I do come from Earth. I was living my very ordinary life when I stumbled across something so strange. A large green pipe. Larger than me, hidden deep in the forest of the nearby mountains. It was indeed a  strange sight to see. But I wasn’t afraid when I saw it.”

“I was extremely confused and adventurous. I wondered ‘Who would build such an enormous pip and then just hide it?’ . Instead of being safe, going to ask for help, I walked into said pipe. I thought it would just go to the other side of the mountain.”

“Technically, it did.” Matsutake said with a smirk. 

“Well, the other side of my mountain, not yours,” Dahlia rolled her eyes, “Anyway, I was only a few feet in when I saw this bright light suddenly appearing on the other side of the pipe. And this light just grew and grew until it was everywhere. Then I was floating and before I knew it, I was being sucked down.”

“I felt as if I was falling. Falling past colors and clouds and other pipes. Down, down, down, I fell until I was spat out onto the other side.”

“Which is where I come in,” Matsutake leaned in closer, clearing his throat. Peach couldn’t help but giggle while Dahlia gave her husband an exasperated sigh. 

“So there I was, Prince Matsutake, out on my morning stroll. In the large mushroom forest just outside of these castle walls. Deep in thought as I contemplated how I would handle the title of King when it was rightfully passed down to me.”

“Weren’t you pouting because Papa wouldn’t let you duck out of some fancy meeting?”

“Sweetie, it’s my turn to talk.”

“Oh, I am so adding my commentary.”

“ Anyway, ” Matsutake emphasized his words by leaning further onto his wife and child, “as I was explaining my wonderful tale, I heard a very strange sound. Following it led me to uncover a large green pipe.” 

“Like what mama found!” Peach exclaimed.

“The very same! And, before I could fully figure out what in the world I was looking at, wham !” 

Peach jumped as her father’s hands clapped together. 

“Someone was shot out of the same pipe I stood in front of. Hit me hard and knocked me down. It took me a while to collect myself and when I did, I was met with a vision of absolute beauty.” 

“Aww, aren’t you just a charmer.”

Peach let out noise of complaint and covered her eyes as her parents shared a kiss. “Ew! What happened afterwards? Please continue!”

“Well,” Dahlia continued, “I was welcomed as a guest and…I stayed. I made a life for myself here.”

“What about Earth?”

“The pipe closed up once your mother arrived. We never figured out why or how to get it back open.” 

Peach pouted at that, “Never ever?”

Dahlia smiled softly, “Never ever. But I’m happy here. I met your father, married him, helped rule over a kingdom, and was able to meet you. I’m so happy.” 

Still pouting in thought, Peach nuzzled further into her mother. “...Did you always want to marry daddy?”

“Well, no, we started as friends and grew closer over time. We only had our first date a few months after I arrived here.”

“ Months? ” Peach’s mouth dropped open, “But that’s like forever! What about my story books?”

Matsutake laughed softly, “I’m sorry to say ‘love at first sight’ doesn’t really happen, love. It’s more of ‘looking back, you definitely caught my attention when we first met’ kind of thing.”

“There are many things that your stories don’t go over my dear,” Dahlia said softly, “But that’s why we’re here. Mom and dad are here to make sure you understand how the world works to the best of our knowledge. You come to us with your questions and fears, we provide the answers that we can.”

“But what if there’s something you can’t answer?” Peach whispered softly, “What if it’s something so confusing that I can’t put into words? How am I supposed to know who I’m supposed to marry?”

Dahlia laughed softly, placing a gentle kiss on Peach’s cheek. “You’ll be able to make your own answers when you’re older. You’ll find someone that you’ll unknowingly connect with until they’re someone you rely on for everything. You’ll know. A princess always knows.”

_____________________________

A pair of small feet pattered against the stone floors. Excited giggling echoed between the two princesses as they raced each other through the long hallways. The soldiers merely shook their heads as the girls passed. One dressed in garbs of pink and one of yellow. 

“Wait, wait, this way.” Peach quickly grabbed Daisy’s hand and turned them towards another hallway. One rather dark and clearly empty. But neither seemed bothered by it. In fact, they seemed even giddier upon seeing how alone they were. 

They slowed as they neared a small red pipe. Already hearing voices pouring out from it. The tone carried was angry and heavy with worry. 

“How did you find this?” Daisy whispered.

“I was curious why no one came down here,” Peach replied back softly, “I think everyone just thought this hallway was closed up.”

They were soon settled by the opening, lying on their stomachs as they listened intently. 

Peach’s father was first heard fully, tense, “We don’t need to be this worried about something that we know very little about. These are just rumors. Nothing more-”

“You weren’t there the first time this kingdom rose to power,” a cranky voice interrupted. A ping of something light hitting the ground, making a sharp snapping sound. 

Peach frowned. “I don’t recognize that voice.”

“That’s King Cranky Kong,” Daisy answered, “Papa says King Kong has been alive for years longer than I can count.”

“That long? So he’s a grandpa?”

“No, well, not sure. But he does have a lot of kids. One’s our age.”

“I never heard of him before.”

“I don’t think a lot of kingdoms are fond of King Kong. Says he thinks too far outside the box sometimes.”

“If the reports are true and taken to value, the Dark Lands have crowned a new ruler. We are in serious danger. This is not something to just…just toss aside!” Cranky Kong’s voice sounded again. 

“It would be more worrisome if there were any paths out of that kingdom. Their land is still in exile.” Daisy’s father, King Olivine, attempted to inject calm into the conversation. 

Cranky Kong scoffed, “If they’ve selected a new ruler, then they’re trying something. Trying to make a comeback. We need to think of a solution to this problem now.”

“Inciting terror will help no one. We’re not even sure what they’re planning, if anything. They may just… This might just be a want to rebuild their kingdom in a better way-”

“A better way? Are you daft or just stupid? You know that kingdom has a lineage of tyrants, they want nothing more than destruction. This is leading towards disaster.” 

“Cranky, you are really-”

“Mat, don’t you dare try and sway my position on this! If you really want to keep everyone safe-”

“Do not assume I am not looking out for the well-being of my kingdom.” 

“Then you need to start taking this seriously.”

Peach and Daisy exchanged worried looks.

“I’ve never heard dad sound that angry before.” Peach whispered fearfully. 

“Same…”

“Do you know where the Dark Lands are?”

“Papa says that’s where naughty children are sent to. No one likes it there, it’s scary.” 

“Now, what are you two doing here?” Both princesses let out a small shriek before standing quickly. Dahlia, dressed in a long, light blue dress, with silver accents of jewelry, an elegant crown resting upon her done up hair, stood before them. Hands clasped before her while she gave a knowing smile to the two girls. 

“You should know better.” The queen whispered.

“We were just curious.” Daisy muttered weakly. 

“These are not discussions children should be having, even if they’ve reached double digits in age. Come along, how about we have some afternoon tea until your father’s are done?” Dahlia shepherded them along, making sure to keep the girls in front so they wouldn’t run off. 

Even with her favorite spreads of treats before her, Peach couldn’t pull her thoughts away from what she heard from the red pipe. “Mom?”

“Yes, Peach?”

“Why is dad worried about the Dark Lands?”

Dahlia’s teacup paused halfway to her lips before letting out a small sigh. Placing said cup back down, gesturing to send the nearby guards away. Answering only when the doors closed behind them. “How much did you two overhear?”

“Don’t answer that, it’s a trap!” Daisy frantically whispered. 

“Sweetie, that’s not really helpful advice if I can hear you.”

Daisy flushed, giving a sheepish smile while Peach replied, “That the Dark Lands have a new king and King Kong is really not happy about it. Dad was upset with what he was saying.”

Dahlia tapped a finger on the table top, thinking for a few moments. Eventually clearing her throat and sitting up a little further. “Neither of you are allowed to bring this up with your fathers. These are not secrets that I’m sharing. These are notes that I want you to take to heart. Do you understand?”

Furious nods in response. 

“The Dark Lands are home to the Koopa’s Kingdom. They are a tyrant kingdom, they’ve threatened numerous lands to try and gain power. Years ago, long before your father or even his father were kings, those ruling over the Dark lands were…defeated.”

Peach frowned at the pause, but didn’t ask. 

“While the kingdom is powerful, they were lost without a ruler.”

“They’re so messy that they need a king?” Daisy asked in amazement.

“More of they’re that destructive. Without a ruler to command them, they’d sooner turn on each other than continue their ruler’s work.”

“Weird.”

“But it did benefit those they tried to destroy before. The armies were pushed back to their own lands.” Dahlia picked up a biscuit and held it up for the girls to see. “Once they were all back, the sections of Rainbow Roads and Warp Pipes that tied the lands together were broken.”

Peach couldn’t help but wince when the biscuit let out a loud snap as it was broken in half.

“They were banished to their own kingdom and will remain there if we have anything to say about it.”

“Then why is dad so upset? Or why King Kong is worried about a new king?”

Dahlia let out a slow sigh. “I’m…not really sure how to explain.”

“Are we going to war?” Peach asked fearfully.

“No! No, your father will never allow that to happen while he’s here. Even with their new ruler, the Dark Lands are still cut off from the rest of the worlds. Unless they suddenly gain the ability to fly, we’re still safe.”

“But why is dad so scared?”

Dahlia’s mouth opened slightly, only to pause when the door opened. King Matsutake walked in with a dramatic yawn. 

“Goodness, what a long meeting. And how are all you ladies doing in here?”

“We’re wonderful dear,” Dahlia smiled softly, “Just having a bit of tea with some gossip.”

“Well, hopefully you all didn’t fill up too much. I was about to invite you all to lunch.”

Peach and Daisy gave worried glances at each other before silently following along behind the adults.

_____________________________

“You really sure you should be hanging out with us? Pretty sure Toadsworth will blow a fuse if he sees us with you again.”

Peach, 17 years old, peered up at Wario’s question. Book placed in her lap as she eyed the brother’s current contraption. “What are you two even creating over there?”

“Self-operational grass cutter. And don’t you go changing the subject on me.” Wario argued back. Leaving Waluigi to focus on the final touches to their creation. “I figured you’d want to be at the castle…considering…”

Peach snapped the book closed. 

“Yes, my mother is ill. There’s…nothing I can do to help though. Our best healers are doing what they can. As well as dad’s been so paranoid lately. Between mother’s decline in health and more whispers about the Dark Lands and Bowser… I just really don’t want to be home right now.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what’s the news about this Bowser now?”

“Who’s Bowser?” Waluigi called out. Eyes still on the mechanical wonder.

“New ruler of the Dark Lands,” Wario replied with a frown, “You know this, I’ve talked about it before!” 

“Oh yeah… Wait, isn’t his kingdom in exile? Like, to the extreme?”

“People are worried that he’s trying to bring his Kingdom back to power.” Peach replied.

Waluigi let out a laugh. “As if. The only way he’ll be accomplishing that is if he makes his castle fly.”

“Is that possible?”

Wareio shook his head. “Unless he gains access to a lot of magic suddenly and knows how to use it well.”

“And I’ve never heard about anyone ‘finding’ magic,” Waluigi finished, “I’m gonna fire this baby up!”

“Do it away from us.”

“Alright, you whiner.”

Wario grumbled before turning back to Peach, “You sure you don’t want to… Do you at least want to talk about it?”

Peach puffed out her cheeks. “Only if we talk about your mother, if we’re being vulnerable.” 

A little blindsided by that request, Wario stepped back slightly, But he eventually nodded. “Fine…but not loud enough for Waluigi to hear.”

They looked over when there was a loud roar, followed by some choice words by Waluigi. Who was cursing at the black spew of smoke pouring out from the machine.

“I think he’s a little distracted at the moment. But can do.” Peach said.

“Fair. So…” Wario sat down, waving his hand for the princess to continue.

Peach sighed softly. Picking at her fingers before saying, “I’m really scared. We don’t know what’s wrong with mom. Mushrooms aren’t working. Everyone's so confused as to what could be happening and…and… Wario, I don’t think she has long to live. But she keeps smiling. Like she’s not close to death and that she’s living her best life! I-I don’t get it.”

“How’s your dad handling this?” 

“Horribly. He thinks he’s putting on a brave face for everyone. But if he’s not obsessing over making sure mom’s comfortable, he’s worrying about the Dark Lands.”

“I mean…I know the stories about that place and their past rulers. But what is your dad so frantic about it?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out!” Both winced at Peach’s sudden outburst. Giving Waluigi a small wave when the younger brother looked over. Who frowned but turned back to the machine.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Peach continued in a softer tone, “Cranky Kong’s words constantly ring in my ears, he knows what’s causing dad’s worries. No one will explain anything to me. I think dad’s told them to keep quiet around me. That's why I’m pulling these from the library.”

She lifted the book from her lap. “I’ve been reading over every history book I can get my hands on. Either from the castle library or the local one.”

“Found anything?” Wario asked.

“Not really. Just that the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom have never gotten along. Always at each other’s throats, the Koopa’s seem to be the instigator in some way. But there was never a full reason given as to why this is. No explanation as to why it’s the Mushroom Kingdom that’s being fought over. It’s absolutely maddening.”

“I know you’re curious. But this clearly isn’t helping you.”

“It’s the only thing helping me focus on anything else besides my crumbling life. I feel like I’ll fall apart if I think about what’s going on around me.”

“Well…okay…”

Peach let out a slow sigh, tucking hair behind her ear. “...How’s your mom?”

Wario shrugged, “I mean, she’s alive. Suppose that’s the best I could say. She’s still convinced dad’s somewhere…out there…”

“You haven’t heard from him yet?”

“No…” Eyes darted over to Waluigi, “Bro thinks he went back to Earth.”

Peach blinked in surprise at that. “What? There’s no way. We would have known, dad has Toads stationed at the Warp Pipe.”

“You’re assuming there’s only one Warp Pipe to Earth.”

“...Do you really think he just…left?”

“Honestly, I don’t give a shit. Didn’t do too much for us when he was here. I’m more worried about keeping a roof over my head. Since mom’s determined to glue herself to the couch waiting for that ass to come back.”

“Do you need any help-”

“No.” Wario didn’t miss the way Peach flinched back. Shoulder’s dropping as he softens slightly. “Sorry, just…I’m fine.”

“You just need something to focus on.”

“Yeah…”

They both looked up hearing the machine roar to life once more. Waluigi let out a cheer of triumph that quickly turned to panic as the creation suddenly took off. 

Peach abandoning her book as she and Wario quickly got up. Following Waluigi as all three tore after it. Calling out frantically as the machine headed straight towards the gardens.

“Stop it! Toadswoth will be absolutely cross if anything’s damaged!”

“I’m working on it!”

_____________________________

The halls were deathly quiet. 

Heavy black drapes cover the windows, the castle only lit by torches and candles. The soldiers stationed were attempting to hold their heads high. But were clearly silently mourning, even after the time that had passed since the funeral. 

Even when walking along the carpeted portions of the halls, Peach felt as if her footsteps were echoing. Hands gently grasping the front of her black dress. Eyes focused on the path before her. Heart caught in her throat, thudding painfully as she drew closer to her destination.

Upon reaching the familiar bedroom door, she let out a slow breath before knocking on it.

No response.

She shouldn’t be surprised. But she’d be lying if she wasn’t hopeful. There was an allowance of a few minutes to be answered by someone before Peach pushed the door open. The bedroom was hidden by heavy shadows. The large fireplace offered the only light, which just made the shadows that much worse. 

Slumped over in the heavy armchair was King Matsutake. Dull eyes staring into the dancing flames, but clearly not seeing the fire before him. Even with how dark it was, it was easy to see that the colored spots had all changed. Either a dark brown or black. 

Even with how young she was, Peach knew what the color changing meant. Toadsworth told her once. 

“Brown just means aging, nothing to worry about. However, any darker than what I’m currently showing… Well, that just means that Toad has lived a fulfilled life.”

It had been the kind way of saying that a Toad was close to passing. Old age. No one said anything about a broken heart causing this.

Peach crept her way in. Stopping by her father in hopes to not startle him. “...Dad?”

Matsutake jolted slightly from his stupor. A little life drawn to his eyes as they turned towards his daughter. “Oh, Peach, when did you get here? Did your mother let you in? Where is she?”

It felt as if a knife had been stabbed in her heart. Peach swallowed down her sorrows and tears, weakly replying with, “M-Mom’s gone, remember? She…She went back to Earth, yeah? She s-said she loved us but couldn’t stay, even thought s-she really wanted to.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. How wonderful that she gets to see her home. I do hope to see her again one day.”

Peach reached out to take her father’s hand, tears silently falling. “Well…hopefully it’s not too soon…”

“No…No, of course not. I hope I can stay with you for as long as possible.”

“M-Me too…”

.

.

.

It took everything for Peach to not collapse at the foot of the large tomb. Eyes focused on the horizon as her father’s casket was carried inside to be placed next to her mother’s. The dark gray sky seemed to be a perfect reflection of her internal sorrow. She couldn’t cry, just as there was no rain, but she was as bleak as the sky. 

She barely heard the words as citizens said their farewells. Ears filled with the rushing wind as her mind was filled with white noise. Her skin was ice cold, but overall, she felt numb. 

Peach was only broken from her stupor when a warm hand was placed on her arm. Her muscles felt stiff as she turned towards Toadsworth. 

“We need to be going my dear.”

“...Okay…”

She allowed her hand to be collected into one of his, following behind Toadsworth slowly as they made their way back to the castle. Dull blue eyes landing on her caretaker’s cap. Heart throbbing painfully seeing the brown spots mixed with the slowly dulling red. 

“You won’t leave…” It wasn’t a question, but it wasn’t fully a statement either. If anything, it was a quiet plea. 

“You’ll be with me for a very long time. I promise.” Toadsworth offered a weak smile, but faced forward when it was not returned. 

The sky finally opened up when they entered the castle. Rain fell heavily, as if the world wanted to give their own final farewell to the departed royals. 

_____________________________

It was all too much.

She had no one to turn to.

Daisy had her own kingdom to worry about. Even more so now as her father was demanding her to be more aware of her kingdom. A grim reminder to have her be ready in case something was to happen to him. 

Wario had closed himself away when Waluigi left home. No matter how many times Peach attempted to reach out. 

The Jungle Kingdom had closed their doors the moment of King Matsutake’s passing.

There were furious and fearful whispers almost everyday of Bowser’s growing power. All wanting to know what Peach’s plan was on defending against him when the worst came about. 

But Peach was just as lost as everyone else was. She’d never been prepared for something like this. Her entire world was crumbling and there was no one for her to turn to.

It truly felt as if the world became further separated when her parents passed.

She should be in bed, resting, ready to face the new day with energy. But she felt an itch in her bones that wouldn’t be quelled with sleep. Instead, deciding to wander the halls she’d not been down for so many years. Passing by doors that held better memories that left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Eventually she arrived at her parent’s old room. Heart hammering as she stared down the wooden door. She’d not been there for years. No one had. The room had been trapped in time. 

Letting out a slow sigh, Peach walked in.

Besides the layer of dust, nothing had changed. The bed was made. Closet and drawers close. Curtains drawn, fireplace cold and dark. It was all as dead as her parents.

What a terrible thing to think.

Peach’s footsteps seemed to be muffled, either from the thick carpet or dust, as she walked further into the room. Eyes traveling over everything, as if the answer to all her problems were weaved into the area somehow. But it all remained unmoving. 

She stopped before the fireplace. A shaky breath escaped her as she placed a hand on top of it.

“...Please…” Peach whispered softly, “Please, I don’t know what to do. I fear the worst is on the horizon and now one’s here to help. I-I need answers and you’re not here. You said I would know, but I don’t! I don’t… What am I supposed to do?’

The answer came in the form of a loud click. Seeming so much louder in the heavy silence. 

Peach jumped away from the fireplace in surprise. Wide eyes watching in disbelief as it slowly swung away from the wall. Revealing a darkened stairwell that disappeared into the depth of the castle. Fire Flower resting right at the entrance for use. 

Even with her heart hammering, curiosity won over. 

Peach activated the Power-Up before descending. The smell of damp, aged dirt hung heavy in the air. Peach feeling the child even with the activated power. Stairs soon evening out to level, tapered down dirt. The princess now finds herself in a shallow room, with one of the walls a flatten slab of stone. Peach let out a small gasp as the light fell over it. 

A colorful mural had been placed there. Two humans, Peach able to tell by their rounded ears, stood side by side. One dressed in red, the other in green. Hand closest to the other clasped together. The first ring surrounding the pair was a mix of deep red fire and vivid green lightning. The second ring seemed to be depicting a battle between light and shadows. Both parts intertwined, ebbing and flowing as one. The rest of the outer area was filled with familiar sigils. Those of the kingdoms Peach had once called close allies. Some that she’d never seen before. Some even floating in the darkened, starry sky.

Words written in a language she didn’t understand weaved its way in a single line around the mural. Shimmering in gold and silver, standing out among the painted mural, even more so with the fire Peach held.

“What is this?”

_____________________________

Peach was pulled from her thoughts hearing Wario echo the same question she’d asked when arriving here the first time. Eyes going over to where he and Waluigi stood. Both raise their lights higher to get a better look over the piece. 

“As far as Toadsworth and I can tell, it’s the announcement of the brothers arriving. Except, when I found it the first time, I had no idea what this was.”

“Were you able to translate the lettering?” Wario asked. 

“No. It’s in a language no one in this Kingdom uses and I haven’t been able to ask anyone outside the borders to look this over.” 

“A prophetic photo…” Waluigi muttered.

When the younger brother didn’t continue, Wario said, “So, this is the thing that told you that the twins were the heroes.”

Peach crossed her arms. “Well, how would you interpret this?”

“Well… No, those are the brothers. It’s weirdly uncanny. Who would have even made these?”

“No idea. They’ve been here far longer than anyone I know… Waluigi, do you have anything you want to add to this?”

“I think it’s a timeline in some way, possibly,” Waluigi instantly answered, “Also, I’m really worried about what that second ring is depicting.”

“Care to explain?” Wario frowned. 

“I was getting there! Jeez… If the brothers being in the center counts as announcing their arrival, then moving out almost counts as ‘milestones’. The first ring out seems to be talking about them developing their powers. Even with the mix, fire’s more on Mario’s side with Luigi having more lightning.”

“Huh… You’re right.” Peach whispered.

“What about the next ring?” Wario asked. 

“Ah, well…this is where I’m getting a little concerned,” Waluigi started, “I’m going with the idea that it’s depicting ‘good’ versus ‘evil’. You know, a fight against light and dark. But paired with the previous observation, Luigi has way more of the ‘dark’ on his side.”

Wario frowned, “So…he’s more in danger of being targeted?”

“Wait, wait, the lightning and fire related to them getting a power,” Peach said quickly, “It affected them directly.” 

“Wouldn’t what I just said qualify for that?”

“I- well, yes, but…”

Waluigi turned to Peach, tense and clearly upset. “Are you saying that Luigi is…evil? Going to become evil?”

“Look, you pointed it out first! And…” Peach bit her bottom lip, “maybe it’s just possible influence?”

“Are we talking about the same sweet string bean here?” Wario asked. 

Waluigi crossed his arms. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

The princess quickly shook her head. “I’m not saying that Luigi is evil or is planning something. But…if Waluigi’s statement is true…”

“So, possibly pushed into something?”

“Maybe…”

Wario waved his hands, “How about we take a step back from this. We’re just making guesses and that's not helpful.”

“Yes, you’re right,” said Peach, “Our first concern should be trying to translate what’s being said on here. Any ideas?”

“None, don’t recognize it. And there are a lot of languages to go through.” said Waluigi.

Wario huffed, “I’m not even sure where to start or who to ask… Let me copy this down and see if I can find anything.”

Peach gave a small nod before turning to the mural once more. Arms wrapped tightly around herself.

[edosianorchids901]

Always So Positive

Something original this week for @flashfictionfridayofficial - "portal fiction"

The portal buzzed, an irritating sound that set Lauren’s teeth on edge. She stepped closer to the flickering sheen of purple and black anyway. The same construction as all the others, but a different color. The last one had been green.

Biting her lip, she reached out and prodded the glowing purple. It gave way under her touch, a chilly sensation like sticking her finger into a bowl of jello. She shuddered.

“Don’t do that,” John said with a familiar, longsuffering fondness.

“Why not?” Lauren did it again and grinned at him. “It feels cool. You should try it.”

“I am not touching that, and I have no idea why you want to. I don’t understand why we don’t simply twist around and flee in the opposite direction on sight.” Frowning, he dutifully got the tether out anyway, a resilient cord that had so far saved her on five different occasions. “It never, ever goes well.”

“But it’s always interesting!”

“It’s always dangerous, not interesting.”

“It can be both at the same time.”

He blinked at her. They’d been expedition partners for the past three years and best friends for ten, and she knew every single look on his face. This was definitely his “you’re being a complete idiot” face.

“Besides,” Lauren said brightly, hooking the tether to her utility belt with some difficulty thanks to her stiff fingers. “We find useful tech sometimes. How about that healing device thingy?”

Lips pursed, John pulled out her breather mask and handed it over. “You mean the one that set your hand on fire and burned off all your skin instead of repairing your cuts?”

“It didn’t burn off all my skin. Just some of it.” It hadn’t been one of her finer moments—testing alien tech on yourself wasn’t a great call. She flexed her hand again, trying to ignore the lingering pain. “And who knows? We might actually make the next great discovery sometime, get really famous.”

“That’s highly unlikely.” John helped her into the breather, carefully freeing all her long hair from the mask straps and pulling it back into a ponytail. “Besides, if we found something ‘cool’, some corporation or another would just use it for nefarious purposes.”

“Always so positive,” she said dryly, as if that wasn’t the exact reason that they fictionalized all of their reports. Enough information to keep getting funding so they could explore new planets, not enough that their sponsors would turn their finds into bioweapons or some shit. “Okay, wish me luck!”

“Good luck.” Expression taut, John patted her shoulder. “Try not to get eaten.”

Lauren gave a thumbs up, then dove through the portal.

Darkness greeted her on the other side of the chill, and she toggled on her headlamp. Okay. Inside a building of some sort, the nearby walls crumbling. More ruins, then, which at least meant a higher chance of salvage.

She took a step forward, and paused at the flicker of movement to her left. Was that a flash of light?

More light flickered, all around. Glowing green, luminescent orbs with slitted pupils running from top to bottom. And then, underneath the eyes, sharp fangs caught the light of her flashlight.

“Shit!” Lauren twisted around and ran, tugging on the tether to alert John. Something slashed deep into the back of her shoulder, and she gritted her teeth. More pain erupted in her ankle, and then hip.

She kept going, hurtling towards the portal. A sudden, ripping sensation at the back of her head, and her vision blurred as she dove into the flickering purple.

When she crashed to the floor at John’s feet, wheezing, he immediately dragged her further away from the portal. “What happened?”

“Teeth,” Lauren gasped. “Lots of teeth. And eyes.”

“I told you this never goes well.”

Even with bleeding and her eternally stiff hands, she managed to help John set up a containment field in front of the portal. Nothing with tons of eyes and fangs was coming through that, at least.

Exhausted, she crumpled in the corner of the room and reached back, feeling at the back of her head. “I think they ripped my ponytail off. Oh well. I did need a haircut.”

Pulling out a medkit, John shook his head at her. “Always so positive. Have you figured out what we’re telling the company about these ruins yet?”

“Not yet.” Coming up with their fake reports was always a delicate balancing act. “Except that it was a successful mission.”

John began bandaging her bleeding ankle. “Successful in what possible way?”

Giddy, Lauren grinned at him. “We’re still alive.”

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 032: Gifts (ASM 163-164)

MASTERPOST

In this batch, we celebrate a birthday and we actually analyze stuff!

Oh, there's the Kingpin too, I guess.

At the start of the issue, Spidey has an action scene with goons and the Kingpin, but he can't follow them very far. The scene was rather bland, so let's just skip to the Parker stuff.

The previous batch did allude to a surprise party!

First of all, is it me or do the characters change clothes more often? I feel like that's new. I love Peter's purple pants, they're great.

Yup, it reminds me of The New Animated Series! What a show that was. Not perfect, but audacious at least (and visually great).

Anyway, I love how everybody wishes him a happy birthday. That's neat! Peter has just had a really difficult year or two. Gwen's death, Harry's addiction, Gwen's clone... I'm happy that he gets to be happy for a bit.

OKAY. THIS IS MY CALLING. MY OPPORTUNITY. LET'S ANALYZE ALL OF THIS.

Let's check the number of people present that gave something:

the rose curtains

the green armchair

the native american statue

the doggie plushie

the patchwork couch

the pink lamp

the wooden table

the poster on the wall

the espada decoration

the pink rug Those items are the most remarkable. Now the people!

MJ

Flash

The wonderful landlady

Robertson

Liz

Harry

Randy

Gloria

So about 8 in each category. I think that's good enough.

I have some explaining to do.

First off, I think Robertson probably brought the majority of the more mundane furniture. He's older than the rest of them, would have asked Randy's help to transport everything, it makes complete sense to me. I also attributed him the green armchair, but I hesitated. However, I thought that, given how nice it looks, any of Peter's similar age friends would have a hard time giving it off. However, its green color is more of an MJ thing to me...

Talking about MJ... The statue. I think she'd find it pretty funny. Now, how would she have it? I have no idea, but I have a feeling she'd be very happy with herself hahaha. I also attributed the patchwork couch to her for the vibes, although I also thought it could be attributed to Gloria.

Gloria is an issue for me, because we didn't get so much time to get acquainted with her, so it was hard to think of something, but I think she could also have brought some furniture, or some of the most useful stuff like the fruit basket, the radio, the fish.

Flash! Let's talk about Flash. His things were easy: both the circular wooden table and the espada decoration ooze frat bro energy. The fish decoration might have been from Harry or Robbie too, but...

Harry provided the big dog, I think. He could technically have given anything to Peter. He's rich. But I think the dog is a sentimental thing. And it's huge. Do you picture the other characters having a huge dog like this? I personally don't. Or maybe Randy. But Harry? Giving his giant dog plushie to his best friend?

I'm gonna cry.

The rose curtains are tacky, but also charming. I thought it might have been from MJ or Gloria, but the landlady seemed the most indicated to me. In the same way, the old-looking (although I don't know much about lights from the 70s...) pink lamp is probably from the landlady.

Liz probably provided the pink rug, and maybe some furniture. I don't know. We didn't see much development since her return.

Finally, Randy. I feel like he and Robbie acted as one, but the poster feels the most Randy-ish. Randy's shown to be pretty politically active in his student circle, so I wouldn't be surprised if he had posters to put up everywhere. After a bit of research, the text probably says "Every day, in every way, I am getting better, better, and better", a sentence attributed to Emile Coué (French rep, yay!). Which kind of throws my theory in shambles...

Or does it? I can see Robbie giving it to his son, and his son getting tired of it/learning its lesson, and deciding it would look nice on Peter's wall.

Oh well, that does it for the analysis! Now, did I hit the nail on the head?

Toasters is definitely something Gloria would bring, like I said. The fish... make sense, alright.

Our lovebirds interrupt me checking my answers.

And Flash's eager to ruin everything, hahaha.

Does the panel imply Peter and Flash briefly held hands for a second? I'm here for it!

Peter is not, however. He questions his sexu--I mean, his relationships with the opposite sex. He's so close to getting it!

The two people interrupting him are Liz and Harry, having the time of their life. Good for them!

Later, Spidey encounters the Kingpin again, and...

SUDDENLY BONDAGE!

The next issue begins with a clarification.

Girl. What.

Turns out a lot of stuff happened in Captain America #148. I didn't expect that storyline to continue in another magazine. Marvel!!!!

Thankfully for me, Vanessa arrives to slay.

Unfortunately, the Kingpin doesn't care about Vanessa thinks and she says that she's basically done here. So long!

Yes, you suck, Kingpin!

However, he doesn't suck entirely. He says that Spidey can go, since he doesn't need him anymore. Spidey's not very nice and still tries to fight. He has only six hours to live, and decides to go back to his apartment.

For all of you, whump lovers!

Peter decides to go to Curt Connors. They do experiment, foreshadow that The Lizard's gonna come back soon, then Spidey goes to find Richard and revert their life energy.

They two villains fight, fall in the Hudson river, Spidey emerges, and Vanessa stops the men from shooting at him.

I guess Spidey's lucky, huh! Because it sure looked like he was going to kill Richard to save himself!

Nobody asked for this! Nobody!!!!!!!

[oddeyeboy]

ODD EYE CIRCLE

《Teaser Breakdown》

First, a disclaimer

We do not know how connected this will be to the old lore. It's been a long time since jj left BBC, so even if they tap in to the old lore, it will not be the full ot12 timeline we've grown accustomed to. There are only five members currently under Modhaus, so it's a given that the lore will be different if not entirely scraped. For now, we will only assume the past Odd Eye Circle lore is canon or referenced, and not consider members signed to other companies.

Now, let's take a look at the teasers.

On June 14th, 15th, and 16th, the first teasers of (in this order) JinSoul, Choerry, and Kim Lip were released:

In these teasers we get a dark, elegant vibe, with each of their odd eyes covered by eye patches. Choerry ties a business man's shoes together, and behind Kim Lip, people in business attire dine, seemingly not noticing Kim Lip. She is either not there for aesthetic reasons, or supernatural ones. Present, but undetected.

The next set of teasers were dropped on June 25th, 26th, and 27th:

We see the girls sitting on a table in the middle of a dark, blue washed mansion. Fifteen people surround them, five in matching suits with masks, ten in other business attire with their faces revealed. On the table are various foods and things, including mangoes, bread, flowers, a perfume bottle, etc. There are only three chairs at the table. Notably, Kim Lip has twelve hair clips in her hair.

On June 28th, we received our first video teaser:

At first, everything is in black and white as a radio switches between old oec songs. The first oec debut date (2017-09-21) and the new oec debut date (2023-07-12) slowly float across the screen towards each other. When they meet, everything glitches again, and a black screen with three dots says, "Did you wait?". We then see the following galaxy shot of (in this order) Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry's solo debut dates.

Then, we get a flash of the same shot but negative, making the colors a neon blue, bright yellow, and lime green.

As the video plays the Version Up logo in a few different black and white filters, we get a shot of a moon in a warping background as odd eye circle slowly goes over the scene, then becomes three moons. In the background, we hear what could possibly be a teaser of a new song.

On July 2nd, we got a set of teasers with a very different vibe:

Choerry's Teaser:

The background is baby blue

Her earring is the mobius strip.

She is the only one concealing her odd eye and not looking into the camera. Instead, she is looking through a diamond.

Her visible eye is a deep blue.

Kim Lip's teaser:

The background is baby pink.

She is holding a glass orb (or perhaps a crystal ball) with both hands.

Her eyes appear the same and are pink.

JinSoul's Teaser:

The background is light yellow.

She is holding what appears to be a small glass ball on a string.

Unlike the other two, her teaser is shrouded in a yellow dust, obscuring parts of the photo.

Notably, the teasers could be the pastel versions of the three modern primary colors, yellow, blue, and magenta.

Here is the teaser inverted, for a moment of speculation:

Choerry is now washed in red, Kim Lip blue, and JinSoul a purple/blue. Some have seen more orange or seafoam green, but in my opinion, Choerry and Kim Lips colors are very much red and blue. JinSoul's is more so up to interpretation, but when color picking from it, it appears closer to the purple section of the color wheel. We will return to this after looking at the most recent teaser.

The most recent teaser, posted on July 3rd:

This video teaser is much shorter than the first, but reveals a good amount about the music video for Air Force One. We see the girls riding in a van at night with the five masked girls from before. When the van stops, the oec members get out, with JinSoul carrying a cake. JinSoul throws the cake over her head as they walk to the camera, and the video ends.

As a bonus, here is the tracklist, dropped a few hours ago:

Feel free to speculate about the concept and lore in the reblogs and stream Air Force One!!